


The Queen, The Knight, The Pawn

by lifelongpotterhead



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Bodyguard Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Political Alliances, Slow Burn, heavy emphasis on the fiction, historical fiction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifelongpotterhead/pseuds/lifelongpotterhead
Summary: Princess Blake Belladonna of the kingdom of Menagerie led a charmed and idyllic life. Engaged in a political marriage to Prince Sun Wukong of the kingdom of Vacuo, her only focus was on preparing to be queen. Unbeknownst to her, the overthrow of an allied kingdom would put her in the middle of international political turmoil, with the safety of her own kingdom, and her own life, at risk.Yang Xiao Long was a mercenary for hire, traveling the world in search of adventure and willing to fight almost anyone- for a price. When word reached her that the crown princess of Menagerie was in trouble, she offered her services as a guard, hoping for riches from the king. Will she finally find something worth fighting for, or will she be swept up in the game of politics as just another pawn?
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Sun Wukong, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 33
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It may seem like I am hinting at Blacksun in this chapter, but I plan to make that entirely platonic, in case my tags didn't make that clear! Also, this universe is vaguely based on medieval Europe but will also be fairly inaccurate because this is Remnant and not Earth :)

Blake strode to the Great Hall, followed by one of her ladies in waiting. Her father, King Ghira, had requested that she meet him there, although he had not told her why.

As she walked in, she saw him in a rather intense looking conversation with one of his advisors, although their speech was far too hushed for her to overhear anything- not that she was in the business of eavesdropping, of course. 

Her father glanced up, and his face brightened as his eyes locked on her. “Ah, my dear daughter! Fennec, I believe that we can finish this conversation later. I have something more important to attend to.”

Fennec looked rather affronted at this, and shot a glare in Blake’s direction before he left. 

“Hello, father,” Blake smiled at him, as Ilia knelt beside her, “What is it that you wanted to discuss? You said it was urgent,” She trailed off at the end, worrying her lip between her teeth.

“Ah, yes. I wanted to inform you that I have hired another guard for you! It is not that I do not trust the royal guard, but this woman is highly acclaimed, and I felt that she might be able to keep a less,” He paused, “Obtrusive eye on you. After all, you are my only child, and I want to make sure that you are safe.” 

Blake blinked. “Do you have cause to worry for my safety? Did something happen?” She wasn’t particularly enthused about having another guard- it was difficult enough to give the slip to the ones that she had.

“No, no, nothing has happened. Could you forgive an old man for worrying about his daughter? You know that there is nothing else in our kingdom that I value so much as you,” Spoke Ghira.

“Yes father, if that is your decision. After all, the word of the king must be respected by all, including the princess,” She smiled pleasantly as she said the words, trying to hide the smirk behind it. Ilia snorted beside her, although she tried to turn it into a cough. By the look on the king’s face, Blake would guess that she failed.

“Your new guard should be here soon. I have instructed that she be brought to your rooms when she arrives, and I expect that you will be there to wait for her,” He narrowed his eyes at that, “And you, Ilia, will ensure that this meeting takes place.”

Ilia bowed toward Ghira, “Yes, your majesty. I will make sure that all goes perfectly.”

Ghira nodded at the two of them, “You are dismissed.” 

Blake turned on her heel and began to walk towards her room, dragging Ilia in tow. “Did you hear him?” She whispered, “Another guard? How many guards could I possibly need? It’s not like we’re a big kingdom, nor do we have a particularly large army. What threat could I possibly face here? I might understand if I were already the Queen of Vale, but that won’t happen for a very, very long time!” She huffed, her grip on Ilia tightening. 

“You know how worried he gets,” She said, her voice sympathetic, “He just doesn’t want anything to happen to you. Besides, we have managed to figure out ways to escape from all of the other guards, so I highly doubt that this will be any different. I am sure she will just be another dumb knight who can hardly tell the point of her sword from the handle. Plus, it will be new to have a guard who is a woman! Haven’t you always wanted that?”

Blake’s shoulders lost some of their tension, “I guess so. It would be a nice change of pace to have some more girls around. Sometimes I feel like there are hardly any in the entire castle.”

Ilia elbowed her in the side, smirking, “You just want more people that you can gush about Prince Sun with. “Oh, Prince Sun is so gorgeous. Oh, he is so good at fighting. Oh, he’s so kind and wonderful. Oh, Ilia, isn’t Sun just amazing!” I swear, he’s all you talk about sometimes.”

Blake rolled her eyes, “Hey! This is my future marriage that we are talking about! My whole life! I think I’m allowed to be excited about it. And I totally got lucky with him! He might not be the sharpest sword in the armory, but in terms of arranged marriages, I am going to be married to the best option there is. Besides, Vacuo is a wonderful kingdom, and I am thrilled that Menagerie and Vacuo will be forming an official alliance. This will be a most fortuitous occasion for my own kingdom, and I will get the added bonus of being able to stare at Sun Wukong’s face for the rest of my life.”

Ilia gestured towards the air in front of her, “Okay, okay, I surrender. You make a good point, but please try to change up the topic of conversation once in a while. There’s only so much a girl can take, you know?”

They finally reached Blake’s chambers, and Ilia opened the door for her to walk through. Blake was rather excited- her lessons for the day were over, and now she would get to relax in her chambers in the most solitude that a princess could get, while she had the chance to read, something that she was having less and less time for these days as she prepared more intensely to become queen. 

Well, she would have had some solitude, except there was a person standing in the middle of her bedroom, looking through her things. Despite the fact that her chambers were situated at the highest spire in the castle, and the doors were both locked and guarded. 

Blake was pretty sure that she should have been afraid. That maybe she should have stepped back, or ran, or called for her guards. And, she was about to do one of those things. Truly. She’d swear.

But then the stranger looked up, and she met the most brilliant pair of violet eyes, framed by hair the color of pure gold. 

She felt pinned by the stranger’s gaze. Her face flushed as she stared, her mouth definitely hanging open. She was pretty sure that she would hand over her kingdom just to stare at their beauty a little longer.

Right. Kingdom. Princess. She wrenched her gaze away from their face, and finally noticed the holster strapped to their waist, with handles poking from the top, and the odd metal adorning their fingers.

Ah. So this person probably meant to murder her. In that case, it would probably be smart of her to start running.

Let it never be said that the crown princess of Menagerie was smart.

She finally found it in herself to step back, just as the stranger opened their mouth.

“I gotta say, princess, your guards fucking suck,” They finally spoke, raising an eyebrow and leaning against her bedpost. “Fortunately, I am here to fix that particular oversight.”

From behind Blake, another voice spoke, “Who are you? How did you get in here? I will call the guards!” It was Ilia. Blake had almost forgotten that she was there.

“My name is Yang Xiao Long, and I happen to be the princess’s new guard. I got in through that window,” They said, gesturing with their thumb towards the open window that led towards nothing and sat several hundred feet above the ground.

“What do you mean, you got in through the window? And besides, no guard of mine would use such foul language in the presence of royalty,” Spoke Blake, finally recovering some semblance of her wits. 

Yang raised an eyebrow, “I climbed. It was easy. And, oh, how sorry I am for offending her majesty. I shan’t do it again,” They mockingly curtsied at that, despite the fact that Yang was wearing a pair of leather pants, rather than the customary dress. A rather tight pair of leather pants, at that.

“I’ve never met a woman who wears pants before,” Blake spoke coolly, trying to be diplomatic while being insulted. At least she had been trained for that, if not for stunning robbers-turned-guards. 

Yang shrugged, “It’s not that I don’t like dresses, they just happen to be rather unwieldy for what I do. And I would still consider myself to be a woman, mostly.” 

Blake didn’t particularly know how to respond to that, “So you are supposed to be protecting me?” She glanced at Yang’s leather breastplate and the silk shirt that she wore underneath it. Blake was pretty sure there was more dirt on Yang’s shoes than had ever been allowed inside the castle before.

“Yup,” Said Yang, popping the ‘p’, and looking utterly bored with their conversation. 

“Are you aware that you are speaking to royalty, and as such must treat me with respect?” Blake had never had anyone talk to her like this before, and was beginning to get extremely irritated with this girl.

Yang just rolled her eyes, “Well, princess, your dad’s already hired me, so I think I can do whatever I want so long as I keep you safe. Now, please, try not to die on me, because I am very much enjoying the pay.”

Yang strode past Blake, bumping into her shoulder on the way by. Blake didn’t particularly care where the girl went, as long as she was away from Blake and couldn’t ruin her mood by opening her stupid mouth. Blake balled her fists as she watched Yang leave, glaring. 

“Wow,” Ilia broke the silence that was left in Yang’s wake, “That was certainly something.”

“I hate her! What in the name of the Gods was my father thinking, hiring this pathetic excuse for a guard?”

Ilia raised her eyebrow, placing a hand on Blake’s shoulder, “I am pretty sure I saw you almost swallow your tongue when you first laid eyes on her, though.”

“That was different! That was before she opened her mouth and started talking to me!”

Ilia rolled her eyes, strolling over to shut the door to Blake’s chambers, which Yang had left wide open. “At least we won’t be talking about Sun anymore,” She said under her breath, watching as Blake sat down hard on her bed, arms crossed.


	2. Chapter 2

Blake sat down at dinner that night next to her parents, still silently seething. Yang, of course, had wandered into the room after her, having given her space for a few hours, not seeming too thrilled about the situation either. 

Yang, of course, had sat herself directly across the table from Blake, facing the doors, her eyes scanning the room. Blake aimed a glare at Yang, who rolled her eyes in response. Blake was quite tempted to rehash their argument from earlier, but didn’t want to disturb her parents, who had been a fair bit quieter and more withdrawn over the past few days. They looked exhausted, but Blake couldn’t figure out why. 

She decided that it must have been the general stress of running the kingdom. She had learned enough about the daily tasks of royalty to know that it could be a rather frustrating and draining experience, but one that must be performed nonetheless. 

Queen Kali interrupted her thoughts. “So, honey, how was your day? Did anything interesting happen?” 

“It was,” Blake paused, “Fine, mother. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.” Obviously, her mother was well aware of her new bodyguard. Very little happened in the kingdom that the Queen wasn’t aware of, and certainly nothing happened in the castle without her say-so. Everyone knew that it was the Queen, and not the King, who held the power in this kingdom. 

Kali frowned at her daughter’s statement, “How are you getting along with your new guard?” She gestured at Yang, as if Yang could possibly be interested in having a conversation with them.

“She’s rude and incompetent,” Said Blake snidely. Yang stiffened, but didn’t respond to the remark, and kept her gaze on a spot beyond Blake’s left ear. 

Kali’s eyebrows furrowed, “That is not a particularly diplomatic thing for a princess to say. Yang has come highly recommended by a trusted source, and is one of the best knights in the entire world. We would never do anything that would put you in danger, and that includes hiring incompetent guards.” 

Blake gave Yang another once-over, and resisted the urge to snort. Best knight in the entire world? Hardly. She didn’t wear a suit of armor like all of her other guards did, and seemed much more lightly armed than any other knight she had seen. Blake wasn’t even sure that this girl qualified as a knight. Or a civilized person. 

Blake forced a smile to her face that she was sure didn’t meet her eyes, “If you say so, mother.”

“We just want to ensure your safety. You are the key to the protection of our kingdom and you are the future of our dynasty, but, more importantly, you are also our daughter,” Kali said softly, placing a hand on Blake’s shoulder. 

Blake sighed. She wasn’t sure that she could fault her parents for that, but she was starting to think that she would rather be protected by literally anyone else. Maybe Ilia could learn to wield a sword instead, and Blake could be free of the irritating blonde girl.

As if finally noticing the tension in the air, Ghira interjected, “You know, Blake, Prince Sun is scheduled to visit our kingdom, and his fiance. He should be arriving tomorrow.”

Blake paled. She had been looking forward to seeing Sun, but was so distracted by her new, annoying tail that she had nearly forgotten about the whole affair!

“Oh, right! I am quite excited to see him. I don’t believe I have gotten to talk to him in person since we formalized the engagement, and the peace treaty with Vacuo. I’ve missed him quite dearly.”

Even if they weren’t necessarily in love yet, she considered Sun to be a good friend, and really did enjoy the time spent with him. She found him to be better in person than through letters- the boy was not the most eloquent of princes, but she would take authenticity over eloquence any day.

Well, almost any day, she thought, as her eyes drifted over the other blonde in her life. Yang could certainly stand to be a little more refined, and Blake wished she would remove some of the more foul language from her vocabulary. 

The thought that Yang would likely be supervising her visits with Sun was one that soured Blake’s mood instantly. Of course, Blake had lived her entire life surrounded by guards at all times, but the ones that she wasn’t friendly with were ones that hardly spoke to the members of the royal family. She had never had a single guard express distaste towards her, and Blake was fairly sure that Yang’s inability to keep her rude thoughts to herself was going to be a detriment to Blake’s life for as long as Yang was around, which Blake hoped would not be very long. 

At some point, Blake realized that she had completely lost track of the conversation, too busy fuming about Yang. She shot a glare at the other girl, but Yang seemed not to notice.

Blake tried to refocus on the conversation- it seemed that her parents were discussing an interruption in trade with the Kingdom of Mistral. She continued to tune out the discussion once she realized that. Trade was an extremely boring subject that she was not in any hurry to get a better handle on. She still had years, decades, even, before she would be queen, and Blake was pretty sure that she would have plenty of time to learn about the complexities of international relations later. All that really mattered to her was that she was engaged to Prince Sun, and that her future laid in Vacuo. Why should she be preoccupied with interruptions in agricultural trade? Her parents probably had a handle on it, anyways.

Eventually, the servants came to begin clearing the dishes, and Blake took the cue to retire to her chambers. It seemed as though her parents were going to continue working through the night, as her mother had mentioned wanting to consult some advisors on their next course of action. 

She walked back to her rooms, Yang trailing some distance behind her the entire way. Oddly, the blonde was completely silent, which Blake was quite thankful for, although she hadn’t thought it possible. 

Blake had expected Yang to retire elsewhere in the castle. Her regular guards always switched on and off throughout the day, and, usually, the guards who stood on duty ended their shift after dinnertime. She was rather surprised, then, when Yang actually followed her to her chambers.

Blake paused. Was Yang going to stand with the nightshift, outside her bedroom doors?

Instead, Yang pushed the door aside, standing in Blake’s room for the second time that day.

“Excuse me, but what are you doing? Last I checked, the quarters for the guards are on the other side of the castle. This is my room,” Blake said, her exasperation showing on her face. 

Yang blinked, “Didn’t your parents tell you? I am supposed to be guarding you 24/7. I have been told to follow you quite literally everywhere. I only left earlier because the queen did not deign to tell me this until today.”

“What?” Said Blake, rather dumbly, “What? That’s... What?” All of her lessons on how to be a graceful princess abandoned her as she struggled to form a response to that. “Don’t you have to sleep?” Was all she could come up with, still blinking in confusion.

“I’m supposed to sleep in here. With you. In case something happens and you need someone to protect you immediately,” Yang said, rather flatly.

“That’s absurd! Nothing is going to happen to me, especially not with the other guards right outside the door!”

Yang crossed her arms, “Remember how I got into your room earlier even with guards on duty? If I could do it, anyone could.”

Blake glared at her. That was a pretty sound argument, and she wasn’t sure she could figure out a good way to argue back, “Nothing is going to happen to me,” She said, weakly. 

Yang shrugged in response, “Maybe not, but your parents still hired me to do this, and I can’t exactly disobey direct orders from the king and queen. If it helps, I’m not thrilled about the situation either, princess.”

Blake clenched her jaw, “Fine. But you’re sleeping on the ground. I can give you a blanket.”

Yang shrugged again, “Fine with me. I’ve slept much worse places than the floor of a goddamned castle, believe me.”

With that, Yang walked to one of the corners in Blake’s room, and sank to the floor.

Blake stalked over to her bed, significantly more irritated with this arrangement than she had been earlier in the day, which was truly saying something. 

She paused for a moment, staring at the candle flame next to her bed. Ordinarily, she slept naked, and she did not own any sleep clothes. It wasn’t usually an issue, considering that only Ilia and some of the servants and guards ever went into her chambers. But, the thought of stripping nude in front of Yang felt terribly embarrassing, and Blake felt herself flush at the thought.

Yeah, no way was she doing that.

She was very reluctant to sleep in her dress. It was made of very fine silk, and was incredibly expensive and labor-intensive to make. She wasn’t even sure that they had people capable of making such fine lace in her entire kingdom.

She settled for stripping down to her chemise, which still felt mortifying, but slightly more tolerable. 

It took her a while to fall asleep, too angry with her new guard, too many thoughts swirling through her mind.

The next day, she would be meeting with Prince Sun, but her thoughts didn’t stray even once from Yang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent SO LONG researching to try to figure out what a medieval princess would have worn to sleep, and apparently, the answer is nothing! I also now have 20 tabs pulled up for research purposes, which is only going to get worse XD.   
> There might be some semblance of a plot in the next chapter, but most of the planning that I have done for this fic is focused on the middle/end, so it might be a little slow for the next few chapters.  
> I have also discovered that slow burns are even more frustrating to write than to read! I very much want to skip to the part where they are in love, but, tragically, there must be other things first :(.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized while writing this chapter that, while dialogue has never been my forte, being quarantined for 10 months with basically no human interaction outside of my family has completely destroyed my ability to have (or write) normal human conversations... So if the dialogue is a little terrible, I blame covid.

Blake awoke the next morning at the break of dawn, her eyes bloodshot and her chemise quite wrinkled. She was so, so tempted to lie back down in the warmth of her blankets, but the sounds of Yang’s deep breaths reminded her of the existence of both her most favorite and least favorite blondes, and the torrent of thoughts that chased that little reminder, she knew, would not allow her any more rest. 

Sun was coming later in the day, and she figured that she might as well pick out an outfit now, although it would still be proper for her to bathe beforehand. She stared at her closet, her options still mostly obscured by the darkness of the daybreak.

Her favorite purple dress it was, then.

By the time Blake had finished bathing and getting prepared for the day, the sun was fully visible in the sky, and Yang had finally awoken. She was standing still, looking almost awkward, which wasn’t something Blake had thought Yang capable of. It was nice to know Blake wasn’t the only one who found the situation weird.

“Good morning, your highness,” Said Yang rather frostily. 

“Good morning,” Blake paused for a moment, “Did you sleep well?” She said, hesitantly. If she had to be around Yang all the time, she might as well make an attempt to be polite. She wasn’t exactly elated by the idea, but it seemed like the most appropriate option. 

Yang shrugged, “I guess.”

Blake wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. Fortunately, she didn’t have to, because a moment later, there was a knock on her door. 

She strode over to the door and pulled it open, to see Ilia standing behind it. Silently thanking the gods that she wouldn’t have to spend more time alone with Yang, she let her friend in. 

“Okay, I so need to fix your hair,” She said, raising her eyebrows at Blake, “You are NOT going to see your fiance with this bird’s nest on your head.” 

Blake giggled at that. Ilia always knew exactly what to say to ease her nerves, and she felt some of the tension that she hadn’t even noticed building slip out of her shoulders. 

Ilia pulled Blake to sit down on the edge of her bed, and grabbed the ribbons that Blake had stashed on her dresser. She sectioned off parts of Blake’s hair and began to pull it into tight braids, through which she weaved the purple ribbons. 

“I bet I’m going to look completely irresistible when you’re done with me,” Blake teased, as Ilia coiled one of the braids tightly against the side of her head.

“You already do,” Ilia said back, softly.

They spent a few moments sitting in silence, with Blake staring at the stone wall of the castle that was in her line of vision, when Ilia leaned forward.

“Do you want to sneak out tonight?” She asked, her voice a whisper.

Blake nodded slightly, biting her lip to suppress a smirk. If Ilia hadn’t brought it up, Blake probably would have. 

Once Ilia had finished, Blake stood, stretching her muscles. She glanced over at Yang, who seemed to be doing little other than looking around her chambers. 

“Do you want me to do your hair, too?” Asked Ilia, quirking her head towards Yang.

“Uh, no thanks,” Said Yang, scratching at the back of her neck.

Ilia frowned, “Oh, okay. Your hair is quite beautiful, though.” 

Well, Ilia certainly wasn’t wrong about that. Blake wondered why Yang had turned down the offer- she had never met anyone who just wore their hair down, without doing anything to it. Maybe it was the style from whichever kingdom Yang hailed from? It wasn’t as though Blake was particularly up to date on the fashion trends in the Kingdom of Atlas. 

The thought of other kingdoms made her thoughts drift back to Prince Sun. She felt her stomach tighten. They were good friends, and she probably shouldn’t be so nervous, but she had not seen him since before their engagement, and there was a lot more pressure placed on a meeting with your future husband and the co-ruler of your future kingdom than there was on a simple meeting with a visiting prince.

Surprisingly, it was Yang who spoke next, breaking through her thoughts, “I’m hungry. Do you royals serve breakfast in the castle, or do I have to go somewhere else to get it?” 

“Breakfast is served to the royal family in the Great Hall. I don’t know where the guards usually eat,” Blake trailed off.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, princess, since I have to stay with you at all times, so I might as well eat with you. Unless you would rather eat with the guards,” Said Yang, crossing her arms.

Blake was starting to think she liked the awkward version of Yang far more than the hostile one. She sighed, “In that case, we might as well all go eat breakfast together.”

She and Ilia left the room together, trailed by Yang. Her normal guards trailed even further behind that, as they usually did in her strolls through the castle.

Blake was beginning to feel as though she was leading a parade.

There were already platters of food set out when she arrived. She couldn’t tell if her parents had already eaten, or if they had yet to eat, but doubted they would appear at this hour. They had seemed so busy lately. 

Yang instantly started stuffing her face upon arrival, acting as if she hadn’t eaten in days. Blake couldn’t decide if she was more disgusted by her lack of manners, or more confused. Yang certainly had not acted like that the previous night. Blake had not been paying much attention, but it seemed as if Yang had acted almost respectfully in front of her parents. Was it just something she had against Blake, then? 

Blake wasn’t sure how to approach that with tact, because ‘what on Remnant is wrong with you’ was a rather inappropriate sentence for a princess to say, unfortunately for Blake. 

She had just popped a grape into her mouth when a servant rushed into the room, shouting, “Prince Sun has arrived!” 

Blake then proceeded to swallow the grape whole, which was about as much fun as meetings with King Ironwood. She had absolutely no idea how, but she had once again been so distracted by Yang’s boorishness that all thoughts of Prince Sun had faded from existence. What in Remnant was wrong with her! Why couldn’t she keep her thoughts on her fiance for five minutes?

Once she stopped choking, she rose to her feet and began to walk in the direction of the palace gates, where Prince Sun would be arriving. Ilia winked at her as she walked past, and, of course, Blake’s blonde shadow followed her. 

She pressed her sweaty palms into the folds of her dress. ‘It’s just Sun. It’s just Sun,’ she repeated to herself. He was her friend. Nothing worth getting so worked up about. 

She turned a corner, and, suddenly, he was right in front of her. Behind him was the rest of his entourage, most of them sounding quite out of breath. 

She blinked. “Did you run here?” It was only afterward that she remembered her manners, and dropped into a curtsey. 

“Of course I did! I was excited to see my fiance. It’s been like, forever since we hung out!” He said, beaming, “Also, why are you curtseying? I’m pretty sure we don’t need all that formal stuff anymore.”

Blake smiled, “You never change, Sun, do you.”

“Never,” He paused for a second, “Wanna go walking in the gardens? I need to know if that giant dead tree is still there. Or we could ride your horses around the castle grounds? Oh, oh or I could show you my new dancing skills because I totally learned how to do that recently or-”

Blake cut him off with a laugh, “Woah, slow down there Sun! I think we’ll have plenty of time for all of that while you’re here. But, for now, I think a walk in the gardens sounds lovely.”

A boy about their age wearing all blue walked up to Sun and clapped a hand on his shoulder, “All of that sounds spectacular, but could someone please show us to our rooms first? We have soooo much luggage with us.”

Sun stuck his tongue out at the other guy, a move that was completely undignified for someone of his station, but one that was completely Sun.

“I could have Ilia show most of you to the guest chambers, considering that I am quite sure that she is standing right behind that pillar over there, eavesdropping on everything that is happening” Blake said with a grin.

“Hey!” Shouted Ilia indignantly, stepping out from behind the very pillar that Blake had motioned towards.

“I know you too well,” Laughed Blake, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything that happens later. I won’t spare a single detail.”

Ilia gave her a pointed look, “You better not. Right this way, everyone!” The crowd of people followed her down the nearest hall. 

“See ya’ later, Neptune!” Sun shouted, waving at the boy in blue. 

Blake smiled at him, “Now I believe we have a date in the gardens,” She said, taking Sun’s arm and leading him down another hall. Following them was, of course, the normal entourage of guards, Sun’s guards, and Yang. Incredibly excessive for the occasion, Blake thought to herself. 

“So, how have you been?” Blake asked, not particularly sure what to say. 

“Well, you know. I’ve been preparing to take over the kingdom still, which, as you know, is super boring.”

“It’s not boring!” Blake protested, “It’s important work! We have to be prepared for when we eventually reign and have to keep our kingdoms from falling apart single-handedly!” 

“Well, hey! I never said it wasn’t important! But I swear if I have to sit through another meeting with King Ironwood on the importance of maintaining the security of our border I might ask Neptune to shoot me with a bow and several hundred arrows.”

“Oh my gods that’s right! I forgot your kingdom is so much closer both physically and diplomatically to him. That sounds so horrible!” She said.

“He is insufferable. I’ve heard he’s started having advisors who question him be executed, and I really just want to tell him to calm down, buddy, but I’m pretty sure I would also be executed if I did that, Prince or not.”

Blake laughed, “Now, I kind of want to see that happen.” 

Sun let out a dramatic gasp and clasped a hand to his chest, “My wife wants to see me executed before we even wed! Oh, how terrible. If you want a divorce that badly, you could have just told me!”

“But I always thought regicide would be much more fun,” Blake shot back, both of them collapsing in laughter.

The pair stepped into the gardens, bathed in the warmth of the sunlight.

“Have you decided how long you’re staying?” Asked Blake.

“I have no idea,” Said Sun, drumming his fingers on his thigh, “My parents want me to stay here for a little while, at least. They said something about repairing the rift in the relationship between our kingdoms or something? I really tuned most of it out. I still don't really get why our kingdoms have been fighting for so long in the first place. Plus, we’ve been friends our whole lives, so it’s not like the wars are going to continue once we are in power.” 

“My thoughts exactly! The solution seems so much more simple than my parents make it out to be.” Blake sighed.

Sun leaned against a willow tree next to the path, “Hey, have you ever climbed a tree?” He asked, rather randomly.

“What? No, never. I think my guards would throw a fit if I tried,” She laughed lightly, “They all treat me like I’m made of glass,” She said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Same,” Said Sun, almost wistfully, "I’ve always wanted to, though.” 

Their time together passed rather quickly after that, and before Blake knew it, the sun was high in the sky and the heat beginning to become unbearable. 

Sun yawned, stretching his arms over his head. “I think it’s about time for me to take a nap. It was a pretty long trip here, and I’ve gotten like, no sleep. And usually when I get tired I act irritating, and then Neptune throws pillows at me until I agree to sleep,” He said, laughing lightly.

“Fair enough,” Said Blake, “We can rendezvous again tomorrow, my dearest fiance.” 

“Adieu, my love,” Returned Sun, giving a mock bow, “Oh wait, that’s Neptune. See ya later, future wife,” He said with a wink. Blake fought back a laugh as his guards came to collect him, leading him away towards his chambers.

Blake turned to return to her own room, once again followed by Yang, who was oddly silent. If she hadn’t known better, she might have even forgotten that Yang was there. That was fine with Blake, however. She didn’t need Yang’s bitterness to ruin her good mood, and if Yang had to stay silent for that to happen, so be it. 

Blake elected to spend most of the hours until dusk working on her embroidery, which she had found herself neglecting lately. Of all the activities that she had available to her, however, she thought it might feel the least awkward to do under Yang’s watchful stare, and was a useful skill nonetheless.

And so, she waited, thinking about the adventure that awaited her when the sun went down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for ending this chapter so weirdly! I had been planning on including a few more scenes and basically doubling the length of this chapter, but writing this was so frustrating and I just wanted to be done. On the bright side, I can tell you that the next chapter will be way more exciting, since all of the interesting things that were supposed to go in this chapter have been moved to the next one!


	4. Chapter 4

By the time the sun set, Blake was nearly vibrating with anticipation. Eventually, she heard Yang’s breaths deepen and even out, and she knew that the other girl was asleep. 

Blake crept over to her clothes and grabbed a cloak, pulling the hood up to hide her face as she stole one last glance at Yang, who didn’t stir in the candlelight. 

Blake tiptoed to the back of her room, and flipped open a hatch on the outside of one of the grey bricks. Underneath sat a handle, which she twisted and pushed open. The hidden door opened to a passageway. Inside, the brick was pitch black, but she knew it well, and followed the stairs down with her left palm tracing the brickwork to keep her place in the dark. She shut the door behind her as quietly as possible, wincing at the soft noise the latch made. 

She made quick work of the staircase, reaching the door to the outside of the castle tower faster than even she expected, stepping out onto the damp grass in the chill of the night.

“Where were you?” Asked the cloaked figure standing next to the door, barely visible in the dark. 

“Sorry, I had to shake my tail,” Blake whispered back, a smile gracing her face. 

Ilia rolled her eyes, smirking, “Yeah, yeah, I know. At least none of your guards know about the passage, right?”

“Are you accusing me of being an idiot?”

“My oldest friend? Absolutely,” Ilia shot back, both of them trying to stifle laughter.

The two girls began to walk swiftly towards the stables, keeping on their toes as they travelled down the paths on the castle grounds. 

They reached the stables after a few minutes, the lamp hanging on the door of the building lighting their way. The horses neighed in greeting as Ilia stepped forward, pulling a key from the deep pocket of her cloak. 

“I still can’t believe that you actually stole this from the stablemen all those years ago. Some princess you make,” Ilia quipped.

“And I still can’t believe you haven’t lost that thing yet! It’s not like we do this that often,” Blake shot back.

“Face it, Blake, we’re master criminals. We do this too much,” Ilia laughed.

“Indeed. Master horse thieves we are,” Said Blake, walking up to her horse and stroking its black muzzle, “Hello Gambol,” She whispered, “Long time no see.”

They began to attach the saddles to their horses, both well-practiced at doing so, and only took a few moments to fully prepare the horses. They led their horses out of the stables, their dark cloaks and similarly colored horses making them almost invisible in the sparse moonlight. 

Straddling their horses, they trotted down the path out of the castle, to the gate that was rarely guarded this time of night. The only people who knew about that particular exit were the people who lived at the castle, and the Queen and King had always argued that adding a heavy guard there would draw everyone’s attention to the path.

Either way, it made it quite easy for Blake and Ilia to slip out of the castle grounds without alerting anyone at all, a rare feat for the crown princess. 

Once they were through the gate, the girls steered their horses onto the main road, pushing their horses into a full gallop. The wind caught in the hood of Blake’s cloak, pushing it down around her shoulders and threatening to loosen the braids that were coiled to her head. 

The wind was almost icey on her face, its force bringing tears to her eyes. She had forgotten how much she loved these little adventures, and how delicious the hints of freedom tasted. 

Eventually, the pair reached a town, slowing their horses as they spied the lanterns hanging in the darkness. 

Ilia hopped off her horse, landing in the dirt. Blake followed, both of them leading their horses on foot through the town, which was empty at the late hour. It didn’t take them long to find the building that they were looking for, with the noise and light that it emitted in the darkness drawing them to it. 

A sign out front read The Beacon Tavern. The two tied their reins to a stall next to the tavern, where a few other horses stood next to the water troughs. Walking around to the front of the building, Ilia pushed in the door.

Inside, the room was dimly lit by lanterns at each table, but the tavern was quite crowded and filled with people drinking and having loud conversations. 

Ilia pushed the hood of her cloak down, smiling, “I do so love when we do things meant for people below our station. You grab us a table, and I’ll get some drinks?” She directed at Blake, who nodded and turned towards a table in the corner, where she knew they would draw little attention. 

She sat on a chair that was a fair bit stickier than anything she ever touched in the castle, her back to everything in the tavern except Ilia’s seat. They came here on occasion just to have some semblance of life as a commoner- it always overwhelmed her, but she did enjoy not having the pressure of being a princess for a few hours.

Ilia sat down across from her, a smile on her face as she slammed down two pints of liquid that Blake was pretty sure was brown, “This is the newest mead that they have. I have no idea what’s in it, but it seems pretty popular.”

Blake took a sip of her drink, recoiling from both the taste and the burning sensation, “I think this is the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. People drink this willingly?”

“Well, it’s certainly no court wine. I’ve heard that this is an acquired taste, although why anyone would want to drink enough of it to acquire said taste is beyond me,” Said Ilia, taking another large sip despite what she had just said. Blake did the same, although she immediately regretted it. 

“I’ve missed this,” Said Blake, softly.

“Me too,” Replied Ilia, “Now, you have to tell me everything about your date with Sun. What did he say? Did you two get along? Do you need any help planning the wedding of the century? Are you in love yet? Do you like him?”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Blake laughed, “Slow down, Ilia! We had a nice conversation, we are still just as good of friends as we were as kids, I am not in love with him, I do like him as a person, and I think we have royal wedding planners and advisors to plan the wedding. Did I answer all of your questions?” Blake raised her eyebrow, a smile on her face.

Ilia stuck her tongue out at the other girl, “I think so. Can’t you forgive me for being jealous?” 

Blake rolled her eyes in response, “Sure. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting thing in the world, seeing as how I was basically just catching up with an old friend. Certainly, it is a bit more complex, but, like most things related to my life, not really the stuff of legends, or novels, when you get down to it. Plus, you can lower the hood of your cloak in public, so I think you are the true winner here, my lady.” 

“Well, anonymity is nice, but I think most people would trade that in a heartbeat for just a part of the life you have,” Sighed Ilia.

“In that case, most people would be idiots,” Said Blake, taking another swig of the terrible mead. 

“You’re right about that,” Muttered Ilia. 

“Plus, having guards follow me all the time is not all that fun. Especially not now that I get to be followed extra closely by that irritating person whose name I will not mention. I swear, getting past her was the hardest thing I have done in the past year! I would love to give up this part of the experience, but, tragically, it comes with the territory,” Blake frowned. 

“Fair enough, fair enough,” Said Ilia, placatingly, “Have you figured out when the wedding is going to be yet?”

“No. I think the treaty might stipulate when it has to happen, but I think the deadline is a long way off. As long as we are engaged, the treaty stays in effect, and we can basically wait as long as we want, as long as neither of us has actually inherited the throne. I think. Actually, I might have to give the treaty another re-read, I’ve kind of been ignoring the actual logistics of it,” Blake’s brows furrowed at that. 

“You? Ignoring a treaty? Seems unlikely.”

“Technically, I have only been ignoring the logistics of it! It’s a lot of pressure, and as much as I like Sun as a friend, I am so not ready to be married to him. It is my duty, and in theory I am completely fine with it, but-” She trailed off.

“But actually fulfilling your destiny is terrifying?” Ilia filled in.

“Yeah,” Blake sighed, hunching over her drink in a way that was most unlike the posture she had always been taught to have. 

“On the bright side, I don’t think this is a problem that you have to deal with immediately. It seems to me like you have years before you actually have to get married, and everything up until that point is largely a formality. Besides, you like Sun, and if you just view the whole thing as two friends spending time together, it might be easier to deal with? I do understand why it is so difficult, though, and I just want you to know that I will always be here for you if you need me.”

“Thanks, Ilia. That makes a lot of sense,” Blake replied. 

The two sat in comfortable silence for a while after that, sipping their mead and enjoying the boisterous atmosphere that felt almost like a vacation from the usual quiet and strictness of the castle. The drink felt warm in her stomach, and Blake felt very at ease as she watched the flame in the lantern on their table dance. 

Ilia jerked back slightly, her eyes wide in a way that they hadn’t been moments before. Blake’s brows furrowed, and she opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, when she felt a pressure on her left shoulder and her hood was unceremoniously pulled off her head.

There was a hot breath on her ear, and then a gruff voice spoke.

“So it really is the princess.” 

Blake stiffened, her breath catching in her chest, “I, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Was all she managed to whisper in response.

The man’s grip on her shoulder tightened painfully. 

“You and your friend are going to come with us, quietly. I know people who would pay quite handsomely for the Crown Princess of Menagerie, and I intend to get my hands on some of that wealth.”

“I’m not the princess. I’ve never even been to the castle. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Blake’s mouth felt dry as she said the words, and she almost felt herself wishing for more mead. Across from her, Ilia sat, frozen. 

“I think you do, girlie. No common girl sits that straight or has a cloak that nice, or shoes without dirt on ‘em. I know royalty when I see it, and you are definitely the princess. Besides, you might wanna be a bit more careful with what you talk about in a public tavern, Miss Belladonna.”

Blake blinked, and opened her eyes to the blade of a knife incredibly close to her face, held in a pale hand. The knife was lowered until it was held at her throat. She could feel the cool metal against her skin.

She might’ve been shaking, but she wasn’t really sure. 

“Get up. Now,” The words were harsher than they had been a moment ago. These were demands. She knew what would happen if she disobeyed them. 

Blake forced herself to move, using more effort than she had ever required in her entire life to straighten her knees. The man was blocking her view of everything else in the tavern. If she couldn’t see anyone else, she doubted they could see her. She took a step, the knife the only thing keeping her knees from giving out under her shaking body, like marionette strings. Her vision swam; her heart felt as though it might beat out of her chest. 

There was a crunching noise, and the knife fell from her throat, as the grip on her shoulder disappeared. Blake’s eyes, no longer staring straight ahead, fell to the crumpled form of the pale man at her feet. It was hard to see in the dim lighting, but she thought it looked like blood was gushing from his head. She felt the urge to laugh, although she wasn’t sure why. 

There were other thuds around her, and she idly watched as several more people fell to the floor. Standing in a circle of unconscious bodies stood a cloaked figure. It was too dark to make out much.

Blake’s gaze fell to the figure’s hands, where polished silver glinted on the back of their knuckles, stained in places with crimson. 

The person turned, and under their hood, Blake met a pair of eyes that seemed almost red in the dimness, glowing embers in the dark. A strand of blonde hair fell in front of their face, and Blake idly wondered if she had seen them before. They seemed familiar. 

While Blake stood, virtually frozen, another man approached her, a blade in his outstretched hand. Before she could even consider moving out of the way, the person in the cloak slammed into the man. The knife clattered out of his hand, falling uselessly to the floor. The other person thrust their knee into his groin, and, when he doubled over in pain, slammed an elbow into his face. A knife appeared in their hand, far larger and sharper than the blades held by any of the people trying to attack Blake. The person held the knife flush to the throat of the man, pressing it into his skin hard enough to send a sliver of blood trailing down his neck.

“If any one of you lays another hand on this girl, I will make death feel like mercy,” They pushed the blade into the man’s neck a little harder, and he let out a squeak, “Got it?” They barked. All of the conscious people in the tavern quickly nodded, other than the man with the knife at his throat. 

The cloaked person stepped forward quickly, grabbing Blake and Ilia by the arms roughly and pulling them through the door. Part of Blake felt like she should protest, or maybe do something, but instead she followed the other person’s lead. 

She and Ilia were pulled towards their horses, and the stranger made quick work of untying them. Somehow, they knew which horses belonged to Blake and Ilia. 

The reins were placed into Blake’s hands. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with them. Blake felt like her brain was operating at a fraction of its normal speed. She felt mildly surprised that she could still recall her own name. 

Dimly, she registered a voice speaking. 

“Get on the fucking horse, princess!” Well, that sounded urgent. She would hate to be the person on the receiving end of that sentence. Good thing they definitely weren’t talking to her. 

Blake found herself physically lifted onto the horse by the stranger. The horse started moving, and two more horses followed behind her. She wondered where they were going. The wind felt very refreshing. 

The other two horses eventually pulled into a field on the edge of a pond. A pair of hands pulled on the reins of her horse, and it stopped too. Wait, had she dropped those? 

Both of Blake’s companions dismounted. Blake tried to get off her horse, too, although her body felt like it was made of liquid, and she ended up falling off the horse face-first, instead.

She rolled onto her back, spitting up some grass. Ilia sat down next to her, looking almost as dazed as Blake felt. 

The other person lowered the hood of their cloak, and Blake suddenly understood why they looked so familiar.

“Yang? When did you get here?’ She slurred, doing her best to form a coherent sentence. She was pretty sure her brain was melting. She was completely sure that Yang was going to murder her. 

“Are you okay?” Is what Yang said instead, which did not make any sense at all to Blake. 

Blake meant to respond to that with words, but what actually came out of her mouth was laughter, which turned into sobs a moment later. 

“Oh, right. Baby’s first knife fight. Definitely not okay,” Blake heard Yang mutter over the sounds of her own crying. Was she supposed to respond to that? 

Ilia sat next to Blake, still, not saying a word. 

The damp grass underneath Blake felt incredibly comfortable, and she felt her eyes start to close of their own accord. She wasn’t really complaining. She didn’t really want to think about the guy who held a knife to her throat, or how she could have gotten really badly hurt if Yang hadn’t been there. Or maybe worse. 

She blinked her eyes, and she was lying draped across something that was moving. A horse, maybe? It didn’t have a saddle, though, and she thought she might be halfway in someone’s lap. That would be most improper. 

She blinked again, and she was being carried in someone’s arms. It was really warm. 

She blinked again, and she was in her bed, soft pillow underneath her. She was so, so, so tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering why Blake's narration seemed really weird and spacey towards the end, my thought process was that, during a crisis, people are rarely capable of thinking or acting logically, and fear can make you do things that are objectively incredibly stupid, so I was trying to reflect that in the story itself.  
> Also, fun facts- The conceptual idea of brass knuckles dates back to the Roman Empire, and while the modern version of them didn't come into existence until the 1800s, they could totally theoretically exist in this universe as Yang's weapon (obviously, they are not made of brass here). Also, according to some random website about horses, side-saddle horseback riding was not invented until the 1380s, and so it is apparently very feasible to say that it would not be a thing in a story set around the high middle ages!  
> Also, it might be quite a while before I can get another chapter out- ideally, I will be able to update in the next week or so, but my life is going to be insanely busy for the next few months, and I am unsure if I will be able to find the time/motivation to really work on this for a while (and if I am wrong here I will gladly eat these words!)


	5. Chapter 5

The next time Blake opened her eyes, the sky was overcast, everything around her bathed in grey. It took her a moment to realize that she was in her room, and in her bed.

How in Remnant had she gotten there? The last thing she remembered was going to the tavern, and getting held at knifepoint, and Yang.

Yang.

Yang was going to kill her. Blake was a little surprised that the other girl hadn’t tried to murder her in her sleep. 

She sat up, glancing around the room, looking for the blonde. Blake found her sitting on the floor with her back against a wall, dozing. Her arms were folded across her chest, with a knife set in her lap, the tip still stained with dried blood. 

Blake gently pushed herself to her feet, holding back a wince at the soreness that racked her body, although from what, she couldn’t recall. She padded over to her mirror, and barely managed to hold back a gasp. 

Her dress was wrinkled and grass-stained, with mud caked to the hem. Her braids, once so perfectly done up, now resembled a bird’s nest, and her hair stuck out at odd angles. A layer of dirt covered most of her face, and there was a streak of blood staining her cheek. She wasn’t even sure if it was her own.

Blake was sure of one thing, though- she had never looked so disheveled in her entire life.

She stumbled back over to her bed, not particularly wanting to continue staring at her reflection. She glanced down at her feet. Her right foot was covered in muck, while her left foot looked fairly clean. Had she lost a shoe at some point? She didn’t remember that happening, but she couldn’t think of any other explanations. 

Across the room from her, Yang stood, stretching out her shoulders. For a moment, Blake thought about hiding under her bed, so that the other girl wouldn’t see her. 

Eventually, Yang turned her gaze toward Blake, leveling at her the harshest, most withering glare that she had ever had the misfortune of being affixed with. Her purple eyes burned with a cold fire, and held none of their usual undercurrent of warmth.

“I’ve met a lot of people in my life, princess, but of all of them you have got to be the dumbest.” 

“Excuse me?” Said Blake, incredulous. Yang, it seemed, was hell-bent on continuing to be the rudest person that Blake had ever met.

“There’s not much point to having a guard if you’re just going to try to escape at the first opportunity. Plus, you are absolutely terrible at escaping undetected. It wasn’t that hard to follow you,” Said Yang, still staring Blake down. 

Blake opened her mouth to say that she didn’t need a guard, before remembering the man with the knife. Instead, her mouth snapped shut with a click. 

“I-” Blake started- “I’m sorry. You’re right, that was rather stupid of me. I didn’t think that anything would happen, and clearly, I was wrong. Thank you for protecting me, even when I was trying to get away from you.” 

Yang blinked, clearly not having expected that. 

“Is Ilia okay?” Asked Blake, breaking the awkward silence that was beginning to develop between them. 

“Yeah, she’s fine. She was a little startled by everything that happened, but she’s not hurt. I think she went back to her room when we returned to the castle.”

Blake let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging. She felt like she had a million questions to ask about what had happened, but she wasn’t even sure if she should. The attack was her fault, after all. It wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t decided to try to have some freedom, it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t tried to forget that she was a princess. 

“I swear,” She finally said, “Nothing like that has ever happened before. I wasn’t expecting it.” 

“Well, no one really expects bad things to happen. But, when you’re the crown princess, you have to try to prepare anyway. If anything happened to you,” Yang paused, “It could be a major diplomatic incident, at best. So, that’s what I’m here for. Lucky you.” 

“Lucky me,” Blake muttered, “How did I even get back here? The last thing I remember, I was on a horse.”

“Oh, you fell off the horse,” Said Yang. smirking, “Like, face-first. I’ve never seen anyone do that before, and I’m kinda impressed. And then afterwards I carried you back on my horse, since it didn’t seem like you could sit up straight. Adrenaline crashes are a bitch, truly.” 

“You carried me?” Blake felt her face flush slightly at that, completely mortified. 

“Yup,” Said Yang, flexing an arm, “I don’t have these muscles for nothing.” 

Blake felt herself flush a little more at that, and she wanted to slap herself. Just because a girl who didn’t look completely horrible carried her when she was unconscious was no reason to lose her dignity!

“Well, as long as I got back home safely,” She said, attempting to recover her composure, “I am curious, though, how you managed to take out that many people by yourself. I did not think that your fists could be that formidable a weapon against,” She paused, “However many people there were trying to kill me.” 

Yang raised her hand, showing off the metal rings draped over the back side of her knuckles, “They’re called iron knuckles. With these, I can pretty much knock out anyone in one punch. I could probably kill them if I tried really hard, but usually, if I want someone dead, I use a blade for it.” 

Blake spotted some spots of blood on Yang’s weapons, and her stomach turned, “Ah. That is quite interesting. I have never seen anything like them before” 

She wondered how many people Yang had killed. She spoke about it so casually. Few people would even speak about such brutality with royalty, outside of actively planning a war. Times of peace had never warranted such a discussion before, and Yang’s words caught her off guard. 

“Yeah, well,” Yang’s expression suddenly became guarded, as if Blake had said something wrong, “They don’t really make these around here.” 

Blake wanted to ask what she meant by that, but from the look on her face, Yang wasn’t about to divulge more information about her weapons. Or anything, probably. Blake absolutely did not understand anything about Yang, but she had saved Blake’s life, so she probably ought to at least try to be friends with the other girl.

Plus, they had to be around each other all the time, and she was pretty sure she now owed Yang some sort of debt. 

Blake realized that it had been a moment since she had responded, so lost in her own thoughts, “Well, I ought to get cleaned up, I suppose. I feel so disgusting right now.” 

“You look disgusting right now,” Said Yang. Blake wasn’t entirely sure if it was a joke.

“Uh, thanks?” She said, trying to decide how offended she ought to be. 

Yang’s eyes widened, “That was supposed to be a joke! A terrible one, apparently,” She winced, “Sorry, I haven’t spoken to anyone close to my age for a while.”

So her new guard was both rude and weird. This would certainly be an interesting experience, especially seeing as how Blake couldn’t very well come up with any reasons to be rid of the other girl, since Yang had proved how desperately Blake needed her the previous night. 

Blake walked over to a separate room in her chambers, and began to disrobe. Ordinarily, she would have had servants help her bathe, but she was fairly certain that they would comment on the fact that she was covered in dirt, and it was really much better than the whole “Blake nearly being murdered” thing remained between as few people as possible.

Thankfully, Yang stayed in the other room- just close enough to come in case something happened, but mercifully far enough away to give Blake some sense of privacy. 

The water in her tub was miserably cold, and became muddy quite quickly. Blake felt almost like laughing. As much as princesses were supposed to be taken care of, she pretty much couldn’t do anything on her own without messing it up. It was a little sad, and she felt a rush of embarrassment over the fact that Yang had to follow her so intently to keep her safe, and that Blake had no hope of being able to do so herself. 

She grabbed her bar of lye soap and started scrubbing at her skin, trying her best to remove the mud and grass and sweat that had accumulated on her. She idly thought back to what Sun had said to her yesterday morning, or perhaps a lifetime ago. Neither of them had ever climbed a tree, or ever really done anything for themselves.

She had a man hold a knife to her throat, and yet couldn’t even make the decision to run when she really needed to. All she had really succeeded in doing was putting herself and Ilia in danger.

Blake toweled herself off, shivering. As much as she could hope, surely, this would not be the last time that she would end up in a dangerous situation. Royalty had guards for a reason, and her kingdom was small, with an even smaller and more battered army. And, while she had no plans to try to escape her guards again any time soon, she didn’t exactly feel reassured by her inability to think in times of crisis, or her general helplessness without a parade of servants behind her.

She rubbed the spot on her throat where the man had held the knife. Someday, she would have to make decisions about how to wage wars and how to protect her kingdom, and yet she couldn’t even function at knifepoint. How on Remnant was she going to be able to lead her kingdom in a time of crisis when she couldn’t even lead herself? When she couldn’t do anything at all without being helped and told what to do?

Some leader she’d make. 

Sure, she was being trained in the arts of diplomacy and warfare, but what did that really matter when she could hardly function on her own? 

She sighed, desperately wishing for a new train of thought, but she doubted she would be able to shake the attempted kidnapping from her brain anytime soon. Blake dressed, ringing out her hair into her towel as she walked back into the room that Yang was waiting in. 

The other girl was staring out the window, gazing at the castle grounds below. When she turned around, her mouth was set in a hard line, and she seemed tense. 

Blake tensed, too. She wasn’t particularly in the mood for another reminder of her failures, especially not when said reminder was incredibly competent. One of the best knights in Remnant, her parents had said. Tasked to take care of the incompetent princess.

She flopped down on her bed, wishing more desperately than she ever had in her life that she could be something besides a princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I got this chapter up way faster than I expected! I have no idea when the next chapter will be done, but I doubt I will continue to update at this speed.


	6. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to start adding chapter titles! I know it is weird to start doing that 6 chapters in but whatever.

Eventually, Blake managed to drag herself out of her bed again, knowing that she couldn't stay there forever, no matter how much she might want to. It would be hard for her to fail at anything else, or for anyone else to try to hurt her if she stayed in bed, but it would also be very hard to do her duties as princess from her bed. A travesty, really. 

She glanced out the window, and saw a carrier pigeon flying by, probably with a letter meant for her parents. Blake rarely got them, herself, but they were always flying in and out of the castle. Thankfully, no one wanted to correspond with her. She doubted she could even write a letter correctly, at this point. 

She stepped towards her door, knowing that she ought to go elsewhere, but not really having a plan in mind. She stopped, though, when she spotted Yang sitting near her door, a candle providing her light against the overcast sky as she stared at the pages of an open book.

“You can read?” Blake blurted out, a bit more rudely than she had meant to. 

Yang stared up at her, blinking, “Nope. I’m just holding this open book in front of my face because I like the way the squiggles look on the page,” She rolled her eyes, “Yes, I can read.” 

Blake hadn’t expected that. While a fair number of people in the lower classes in her kingdom could read, Yang didn’t really seem like the type to bother. Blake didn’t think she had ever met anyone who was proficient at fighting who could read more than a basic sentence, never mind a book. 

“Oh. What book are you reading?” 

“It’s a book about wartime strategy and diplomacy,” Said Yang.

Blake blinked, taken aback, “Why? I thought I was the only person in all of Remnant who would voluntarily read that book.” 

Yang shrugged, “I like to get other perspectives on things that I have firsthand experience of. It’s interesting to see how people on the outside view the wars that I’ve fought in. Also, it was one of the first things that I saw on your shelf.” 

Okay, so maybe Yang was slightly more complex than she had thought. Slightly. 

“I do have other things that you can read that are more fun, you know. Your job does seem to be pretty boring,” She paused, ducking her head, “You do not have to make it worse.” 

“This is fine for now,” Said Yang, “Your bookshelves are a little overwhelming, anyway. I’ve never seen this many books in one place, and trying to find something is impossible! Although, I will admit, following you around can be pretty dull when you’re not trying your damnedest to get into trouble, so I am sure I will have plenty of time to acquaint myself with your bookshelves.” 

“Hey! I’m not-” She wasn't quite sure how she wanted to finish that sentence, realizing how right Yang was only after opening her mouth to protest “-dull,” She finished, lamely, “And I don’t try that hard to get into trouble!”

Yang snorted at that, “Look, I’ve been her for like, five minutes, and I’ve spent most of my time alternating between doing absolutely nothing and trying to keep you from getting yourself killed. I’m pretty sure I’m right on this, princess.” 

Blake pouted at that, knowing that there was no real way for her to refute what Yang had said. 

“Okay, well I can at least prove to you that I’m not dull! Here, I can show you what books I have,” Blake said, stretching out her hand to help Yang up. 

Yang grabbed onto Blake’s hand with her own, pulling herself to her feet. Yang was surprisingly warm, and when she stood, there was scarcely an inch of space between them. 

Blake stepped back, blushing slightly. She led Yang across her chambers, stopping in front of a towering bookshelf that took up an entire wall and required a ladder to reach the top. 

Yang whistled, gazing toward the top of the shelf, “I know you’re a princess, but this is just crazy.”

“I really like to read! Besides, royals have to be literate in order to engage in diplomacy via letters, since it is far too inconvenient to try to negotiate treaties and other things in person each time when all of the kingdoms are so far apart! The best way to stay literate is to read a lot,” She said, trailing off at the end, “I can physically feel you judging me right now.” 

“Growing up, we only had like, five books, and I think I read all of them a million times. I didn’t even know this many books existed,” Said Yang, rather wistfully. 

Every time they spoke, Blake found herself having no idea how to respond to the things that Yang said. Mostly, she was pretty sure that it was Yang’s fault, although this time it might have been on her. 

“Well, at least now, you can read almost anything you could possibly want. This shelf over here,” Blake said, pointing to her right, “Is all fiction. Actually, I think more than half of the books I have are fictional novels. My favorite one is called The Man With Two Souls, which I highly recommend. The books on the left are nonfiction, which is likely where you found the book that you have been reading. The top rows are where I keep the books that I have not read, and the bottom rows are where I keep all of the books that I have read. It is a terrible system, but I have never had any problems with it,” She said smiling and slightly out of breath from speaking so long without pausing.

“Impressive,” Said Yang, “I’ve already forgotten everything that you said, and I don’t think I will ever remember that system of yours,” She laughed as she said it, warmth in her eyes.

“Well, at least you can’t say that I’m dull,” Laughed Blake.

“I think that would depend on my definition of dull,” Said Yang, smirking. 

Blake rolled her eyes in response. She definitely wasn’t dull, and Yang was completely wrong.

“Well, I think I need to go check on Ilia after everything that happened last night. I assume you will be coming?” Said Blake, abruptly changing the subject.

Yang deflated slightly at that, “Of course, princess. Lead the way.” 

The two of them strode towards Ilia’s chambers, Yang trailing behind Blake. Blake knocked on Ilia’s door hesitantly, wincing at the sound of her fist against the wooden door. 

Ilia pulled the door open, her face lighting up when she saw Blake. “Blake! You're okay!” She said, nearly tackling Blake into a hug. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?” She asked, brow furrowing as she gave Ilia a once-over. The other girl looked unharmed, if a little tired. 

“Yes, I’m alright. I’ve been better, but I’m not dead, so I’m counting that as a win,” Ilia said flippantly. Blake felt the same way, but felt a wall of shame hit her at the fact that she had been the one who forced Ilia into that situation, that she had been the one to put her best friend in danger. 

She walked into Ilia’s chambers, the other girl holding open the door, “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. For putting you in danger, for being the person that everyone was after. I should never have done that to you, and the whole thing is my fault.”

Ilia looked at her as if she had grown a second head, “What? I was the one who suggested that we go out, first of all, second of all, I’m pretty sure it was the people with the knives who wanted to kidnap you who put us in danger, not you. You have nothing to apologize to me for. The only thing that I care about right now is that you are safe and alive!” 

“Oh,” Said Blake, at a loss for words, “Well, I am certainly alive.”

“I am glad to hear that. Are you actually okay, though?”

Blake paused for a moment before answering, “Maybe. I don’t really know.” 

Ilia frowned at that, but she didn’t seem overly surprised. Blake knew Ilia probably wasn’t feeling okay either, but she wasn’t sure how to even begin talking about what happened. The two of them stood in silence for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say next. 

Surprisingly enough, it was Yang who broke the silence, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, “You know, it can take a while to get over having a scary experience like that. It can help to talk about it. Not to me though, cause I don’t really care that much, but like, to someone else.” 

That sounded like a smart idea, but the thought of having such a vulnerable conversation with someone while in front of Yang made her stomach turn. The other girl had already seen her at what was probably the most vulnerable she had ever been, and Blake was in no rush to repeat that experience. 

“I think I am okay for the moment,” Said Ilia, hesitantly, “I think we should just try to put all this behind us. There’s no use in dwelling on the past. I am sure that nothing like this will happen again, and that’s good enough for me,” A frown crossed her face as she spoke, as if she didn’t really believe what she was saying. 

Blake wasn’t sure that she believed Ilia either, but what she had said sounded much easier than what Yang had proposed, and Blake wasn’t particularly in the mood to make her life any harder than it already was. 

“I think I like Ilia’s idea better,” She said, “I think I would like to spend the next few hours working on our embroidery, and trying to forget about yesterday.”

“That sounds good to me,” Said Ilia, turning and walking towards the brown dresser that she kept her needles and thread in, upon which sat several bright candles. Behind her, Yang rolled her eyes, clearly disagreeing with what the other two had decided on. 

Whatever, thought Blake. Yang may have been a hardened soldier who could hurt people without a care in the world, but she and Ilia were normal people who had no need to dwell on violence. All Blake had to do was stay in the castle, and nothing like that would ever happen to her again. She would never have to worry about people threatening her again, unless she was at war at some point as queen, and even then, the threats would only ever be against her kingdom, and not her.

No, she had no need to dwell on this. It would never happen again, and as long as she ignored it, it would not affect her life going forward, she thought, as she threaded her needle. She certainly did not have to listen to Yang on this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also thanks to my sister Kaylathebookworm for reading over my last 2 chapters, and if you like this you should totally check out what she writes because it is amazing.


	7. Checkmate

Blake had gone to bed early that night, wanting to just get the day over with, hoping that the next day would be better, or at least slightly less horrendous. 

Sleep came quickly, despite the fact that she had woken up late, the exhaustion still deep in her bones, making her eyes close of their own accord. 

The next time she opened her eyes, she was back at the tavern, the dim lighting reflecting on the faces of the other patrons. Her back was to the wall this time, and she could see everyone else in the room. Ilia sat with her back to the rest of the tavern, this time. Something felt a little off.

Blake scanned the room, spying a cloaked figure sitting in the other corner of the room, staring straight at her. She couldn’t see their face.

She looked away, only to find a group of people on the other side of the room also staring at her, their faces obscured. Suddenly, everyone in the tavern was looking at her, all of their faces cloaked in shadow.

They started to advance towards her, while Ilia looked back at Blake, completely at ease, like she had no idea what was going on behind her. 

Blake saw a glint of silver behind Ilia, the dull shine of a lamp on the blade of a dagger, held in the hand of one of the faceless people. She looked again, and the number of blades had multiplied.

She opened her mouth to warn Ilia, and no sound came out. She tried to point, but couldn’t move her arms. The mass of people moved closer, blades outstretched. 

Blake tried to scream, tried to move, tried to do something. Nothing happened. 

Ilia was smiling at her when the blade protruded from her chest, its tip coated in blood. She looked down, confused. Blood started to drip from the corner of her mouth.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ilia asked her, her eyes still locked on Blake’s as they dimmed. She stilled.

Blake’s heart thudded in her chest, her breaths coming in gasps. Ilia was dead. Ilia was dead. Ilia was dead.

The figure from the corner stood and strode to where Blake was sitting. They pulled down the hood of their cloak, revealing fiery golden hair.

“This is your fault, you know,” She said, a rather blank stare on her face, penetrating Blake’s soul.

Your fault. Your fault. The words rang through her head.

Someone else approached Yang. Yang didn’t move. Blake couldn’t move. 

The other figure swung their sword. Yang’s expression didn’t change, and her eyes didn’t leave Blake’s as the sword arced into her neck.

Blake wrenched her eyes open before Yang’s head hit the floor. 

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and her body shook as she sat up. Everything around her was pitch black. 

Ilia. Yang. They were both dead. It was her fault.

She felt tears spill down her cheeks, her breaths coming too fast to do anything but make her chest burn. Her shaking hands grasped at her blankets, needing to hold something solid.

Wait, blankets?

She blinked, her eyes taking in the darkness of the room and the sliver of moonlight on the edge of her vision. She was in her chambers, in her bed. 

Blake clenched her fists, pressing her nails into her palms, the dull pain drawing her focus. She was in bed. She must have been dreaming. 

She pushed herself to her feet, her shaking legs threatening to collapse under her. She took a few careful steps, until she saw the blonde that she had just watched die laying on the floor, her golden hair glowing in the pale moonlight. 

There was no blood. Yang’s chest had a steady rise and fall to it, and she twitched slightly, sighing. Yang was asleep. Yang wasn’t dead.

If Yang wasn’t dead, then Ilia couldn’t be, either.

She sighed, relief flowing through her. She stumbled back towards her bed, her feet still unsteady underneath her, her steps loud on the cold stone floor as her knees trembled.

“Princess?” Came a voice from behind her, scarcely more than a whisper in the dark. 

“I apologize. Did I wake you?” Blake asked, her voice hushed as she turned back to face Yang. It felt wrong to speak any louder, her heartbeat still thundering in the silence. 

“No, no, it’s okay. Is something wrong?” Yang’s eyebrows furrowed as she squinted, trying to see Blake’s figure in the darkness. 

“I-” Blake hesitated, feeling suddenly that the truth was undignified, and a little childish, “-I just wanted to check and see if you were alright.”

Her voice shook slightly as she spoke, and she thought that Yang might have seen the truth anyway. 

“Always,” Said Yang, more softly than Blake had thought her capable of, “I can move closer to you, if you’d like. That way, you could see me from your bed. It doesn’t really matter to me.” 

It was an idea that would have been intolerable in the daylight, but in the harsh darkness of the night, she found herself feeling so very frightened, and so very alone, and the thought of having anyone by her side, even Yang, was a little comforting. 

“There is a lot of extra space in my bed,” Said Blake, almost wishing she could take back the words the moment they left her mouth, “It seems a lot more comfortable than the floor, if you would like to spend the rest of the night there.”

She felt almost like a child, when she had asked to sleep with her parents when she was scared of the dark. But, she knew now that there were truly things that she ought to fear, and Blake desperately needed the confirmation that Yang was still alive, and that what she had seen hadn’t been real, no matter how real it had felt. 

“Yeah, okay,” Whispered Yang, stepping out of the strip of moonlight and into the inky blackness of her chambers. It was too dark to read her expression, and Blake hoped that she hadn’t overstepped.

Blake slid back into her bed, trying to squish herself as much to the side as possible, so as not to take up too much space. She felt Yang do the same thing on the other side. The other girl groaned softly as she laid on the mattress, and Blake felt a twinge of guilt for not having offered her something softer than the floor earlier. 

Blake turned away from Yang, knowing that it was an odd situation. She heard Yang’s breaths deepen rather quickly, feeling calmed by the sound, by the confirmation that the other girl was still alive. She felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, having not at all been refreshed by her previous sleep, and slipped back into sleep to the sound of Yang breathing beside her. 

When she next awoke, it was to the sun slowly rising in the sky, filling her chambers with a warm light. She hadn’t had another nightmare, and the darkness of the previous night felt distant, she thought, still groggy, as her eyes fluttered open. 

She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and froze, finally taking in what was in front of her. At some point in the night, she must have moved, and she was now facing Yang, the distance between them only the length of her forearm. 

Yang was still asleep, so close that her soft breaths ghosted over Blake’s skin, where her hand laid between them. The sun rose behind Yang, its early rays catching on her hair, making it seem as though she was glowing, like she was the sun herself. For once, she didn’t have the guarded expression on her face, which had seemed so natural to her that Blake didn’t even realize it was there until it was gone. Instead, she looked relaxed, her wild hair falling in waves around her face. On the edge of her jawline sat a long scar, curving into her cheek, faint enough that Blake had never noticed it before. 

She looked beautiful.

Blake wished that thought away, considering that she did not even like Yang, when it occurred to her that she had been staring, which would be rather awkward if Yang were to open her eyes. She flushed at the thought, utterly mortified. 

Slowly, she started shifting herself away, screwing her eyes shut so that she could at least pretend to be asleep. The process of extricating herself from the bed without waking Yang was excruciatingly slow, but she eventually managed it after what felt like nearly a century. 

She stood, stretching in the sunlight as the purple clouds in the sky turned to pink and then white against the blue background, a far cry from the dark of the night. She glanced at Yang, feeling a little embarrassed for her moment of weakness, for having been unable to bear the dark alone. Especially since Yang was so tough, and seemed as though she could bear almost anything without breaking, while Blake just couldn’t. 

She dressed in a blue gown as she thought, realizing that she had spent what could only be described as an inappropriate amount of time around Yang wearing nothing but her chemise. She didn’t think that she could take any more mortification, and wished to be fully dressed before Yang woke. 

She had just sat on a chair to re-do her braids when she saw Yang stand out of the corner of her eye, the other girl stretching out her neck and back, as if she had somehow found the bed to be even less comfortable than the floor. 

“Good morning,” Mumbled Blake, desperately trying to avoid eye contact by looking at anything and everything that wasn’t Yang. She was not thrilled about the idea of starting the day by being judged by the other girl, and she had no plans to talk about the previous night’s events. 

“Morning.” Blake steeled herself for the mocking that would follow that statement, but, oddly, Yang didn’t say anything else. Blake carded her fingers through her hair, her eyebrows furrowed. She snuck a glance toward Yang, who didn’t seem to be looking in her direction either. 

“I was thinking that I might go and see Sun today. I feel as though it has been a lifetime since I saw him last,” She said, breaking the awkward silence that was beginning to build between them. 

Yang shrugged, “Fair enough. You’ve got all those princess-y duties and crap to do.” 

Blake nodded, not really knowing how to respond to that. Yang wasn’t exactly wrong, but that was something that she would never admit out loud. 

Once she finished pinning up her braids, Blake stepped into the hall outside her chambers, Yang in tow. Once again, they fell into a less than comfortable silence, Blake not sure of what to say, and Yang not seeming to care. 

Blake felt like it might be easier that way, but it didn’t make the experience any less weird. 

It occurred to her, suddenly, that Sun might not yet be awake. She did tend to wake up far earlier than most people, and Sun struck her as the kind of person who might sleep until noon. The ocean between their kingdoms had made it a bit difficult for them to get to know each other well. 

Instead of heading toward Sun’s chambers, she turned left, walking toward the gardens. Yang didn’t remark on the change in direction, although Blake doubted she knew the castle well enough to know where they were in the few days she had been there. 

Blake glanced at the blonde out of the corner of her eye, She was a little hunched over as she walked, a far cry from the posture that Blake had been taught as royalty. Somehow, Yang was still taller than her, which was the most irritating detail about her. 

Blake was so lost in thought that she did not even notice anyone else in the halls of the castle, at least not until she walked straight into someone else, stepping back from the force of the collision. 

She shook her head, blinking. On the ground in front of her sat a girl her age. She wore a blue dress with a rather high neckline, and on her head sat a crown of braids, white as snow. 

Blake furrowed her brows.

“Weiss?” 

“Blake!” Weiss exclaimed, a smile spreading over her face. Blake reached out a hand, pulling the other girl up from the floor.

“Wait, how long have you been here for? I haven’t seen you in years!” Said Blake.

Weiss straightened her posture, clasping her hands behind her back as her smile dimmed, “I only just reached your kingdom. Actually, I will be staying here for quite a while. My father has been destroying my family’s reputation among the aristocracy, and has fallen out of favor with the king. I thought it might be better if I was not in Atlas for the time being.” 

Blake frowned, “That must have been an awfully long trip.” 

“Indeed. I have been travelling for a very long time, but at least now I am no longer in Atlas.” 

“Well, now that you are here, would you like to spend some time catching up? I do not find myself to be very busy this morning, and it has been so very long since I saw you last.” 

“Of course,” Said Weiss, the corners of her mouth tilting up at the suggestion. 

“Well, follow me!” Said Blake, turning and leading Weiss toward the gardens. The three of them stepped outside, the sun beams painting their faces.

“It is quite a bit warmer here than in Atlas. I do think I like this much better,” She picked up an orange flower, twirling it in her fingers. 

Blake sat on a bench, Weiss following. Yang stood nearby, leaning against a tree and trying her best to look utterly disinterested. 

“How long has it been?” Asked Blake.

“Too long. Too many years to count, at least,” Said Weiss, “I haven’t left Atlas in Gods knows how long, and I do not think you leave Menagerie frequently.”

“That’s certainly true,” Sighed Blake, “I feel as though the older I get, the less I leave,” She shot a sad smile towards Weiss. 

“Well, I must say, this seems like a much nicer prison than Atlas.”

Weiss tilted her head, and the sunlight glinted off of a white scar across her eye. Blake winced.

“I’m starting to think that I would rather be imprisoned,” She laughed, a little sadly, “I don’t think I can handle anything outside the castle walls.” 

“Who can, really?”

Blake laughed at that, glancing at Yang. Their eyes met, and Yang quickly looked away, crossing her arms tighter against her chest. 

“I really have missed you after all these years,” Said Blake.

Weiss smiled, the most genuine look that Blake had seen on her face, “I have missed you too. I do not have many friends in Atlas, and I have so missed how carefree we were together as kids.” 

“I must say, princess and carefree do not often go together,” Said Blake. 

“That is most certainly true,” Weiss replied, pausing, “Do you remember how, when we were kids, we would tear up handfuls of grass and throw it on each other?” She laughed, “I haven’t done that in so long- I don’t even know the last time I saw grass!”

Blake laughed, digging her fingers into the grass and pulling out a handful, before dropping it into a pile on Weiss’s skirt, “I now dub thee the duchess of grass-land.” 

The two of them dissolved into laughter until Blake’s stomach began to ache. Weiss looked almost lighter, somehow, her posture less rigid and her hair slightly mussed by the gentle breeze.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, Weiss grabbing a few more of the orange flowers and weaving them into her braids. 

Out of the doors of the castle, then, another person stepped into the gardens, which was a rare occurrence this early in the day. 

“Prince Sun?” Asked Blake, rather surprised that he was awake, and that he had found her before she went looking for him. 

“Morning! Ilia said that you would be here,” He said, waving. 

Weiss’s jaw dropped open slightly, as she scrambled to level a curtsey toward him, the flowers falling from her hair, “Your majesty.”

Sun cringed, looking at the ground instead of at Weiss, “That’s really not necessary, Weiss.” 

Weiss straightened back to her perfect posture, looking mildly ashamed, and a bit frightened, “I apologize.” 

“Hey, why didn’t you act this formally toward me?” Asked Blake jokingly, pretending to be affronted.

“Well, we are childhood friends, whereas Prince Sun frequently comes to the castle in Atlas to meet with King Ironwood, which usually means that he is the second highest ranking person in my kingdom. It is only proper for a lowly duchess such as myself to treat the Prince with the utmost respect.”

Blake narrowed her eyes at that. After a lifetime of attending meetings with her parents, aristocrats, and diplomats, she could recognize a rehearsed speech when she heard one. 

Sun interrupted her thoughts, “Really, that isn’t necessary. I hate all that formality stuff. I don’t want to be treated like I’m something special, because I’m really not. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t even be a prince!” 

“Me neither,” Mumbled Blake, “Unfortunately, we are royals, and there isn’t anything we can do to change that. I have not had much luck with pretending that I’m not, either.” 

“What do you mean by that?” Asked Sun.

“Oh, just that I tried to pretend to be a regular person the other day, and was held at knifepoint for my efforts. I was almost kidnapped, too, I think,” She trailed off at the end, noticing the twin expressions of horror on her friends’ faces, “Yeah, I don’t recommend the experience. It was really scary.” 

“Wow, that sounds horrible,” Said Weiss, “I am so glad that you are okay!” 

“Me too,” Said Sun, his voice scarcely more than a whisper, sounding more serious than she had even thought possible for him, “I guess I shouldn't try to follow in your footsteps then, no matter how much I would like not to be prince for a day.”

“No, definitely don’t try it, unless you want nightmares,” Blake said with a laugh, trying to lighten the conversation a little.

“I am so sorry that that happened to you,” Said Weiss, placing her hand on Blake’s shoulder. 

“I-” She paused, “-thank you?” Blake wasn’t particularly sure how to respond to that, although she did think that she felt a bit better after telling the story to someone.

Not that she would ever tell Yang that. 

“At least you’re safe now,” Said Sun, “And I don’t have to figure out how to keep peace between our kingdoms without my fiance,” He laughed. 

“Don’t worry, I couldn’t bear to inconvenience you, so obviously I had to stay safe,” Blake teased back, glancing toward Yang as she spoke. Sun followed her gaze, and waved at Yang, who sent a small but awkward wave back to the three of them in turn. 

“Well,” Said Weiss, standing and straightening out her dress, “I do believe that I have a meeting with the queen and king soon, to discuss my arrangements here at the castle, so I suppose that I will see you both later.”

“They don’t have other people to handle that?” Asked Blake.

“It is quite rare that anyone from the Atlesian aristocracy comes to Menagerie,” She spoke, “And, being that communication is so difficult between our kingdoms, I believe I am being treated more like a diplomat than a duchess. I believe that they might be under the impression that I could provide them information on what King Ironwood has been up to, and I am not entirely sure that they are wrong,” Weiss smiled as she spoke. 

“Well, I guess that I will see you later, then,” Said Blake, watching as Weiss strode back to the castle entrance, leaving her once again with Sun and Yang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me way longer than I expected to finish this chapter! I'm pretty sure that I will be averaging updates about once a month for a little while, since my life is kinda crazy, but hopefully I can get them out a little faster than that! Also, I swear that there is gonna be a real plot eventually, but not quite yet.


	8. Brains and Brawn

Blake watched as Weiss left, suddenly finding herself alone with the two people who she knew the least out of everyone else in the castle, desperately wishing for her old friend back the moment that she left.

“So,” She paused, not really knowing what to say to Sun, having officially run out of topics to converse with him about, “How are you enjoying your stay in our castle?”

He shrugged, “It’s pretty nice. A castle is a castle, though, and it’s not exactly like I’m unfamiliar with them. Same as always, basically, except with fewer familiar faces.” 

“Well, I am certainly glad that we have not disappointed you, at the very least.” 

“Not at all,” He said, tapping his fingers against the bench. 

Blake opened her mouth to respond, before quickly closing it again. It had been so long since she had seen him last, and wading through the gulf of what had happened during all those years seemed an impossible task

Sun seemed intent on looking anywhere but at her, so it was safe to say that he felt the same.

After a few moments of awkward silence utterly unbecoming of two members of royal families, Blake heard footsteps ahead of her, looking up as Yang came to a stop in front of her and Sun.

Blake quirked her eyebrow, trying to make her confusion evident on her face.

“Well, I am supposed to be your protector, am I not? So, I have come to save you from this painfully awkward conversation,” Said Yang, smirking.

Blake couldn’t help but let out a snort at that. 

“So,” Said Yang, directing her next statement at Sun, “Has your family solved the defection problem in your military yet?”

“Sort of,” He said, wrinkling his nose, “My parents discovered that people were less likely to defect when we stationed them in the desert, since the effort it would take to flee was more than the effort it would take to just stay and fight.”

“Defection problem?” Asked Blake, feeling utterly lost.

“Yeah, a ton of the soldiers in Vacuo defect, so they tend to rely on hired swords like myself to fight their battles. We are a lot more loyal, as long as you’re willing to pay, but no kingdom has the money to do that for long,” Said Yang.

“Is that why your parents were finally willing to create a truce between our kingdoms?” Asked Blake.

Sun sighed, “Yeah, but my father is adamant that the treaty be created through our marriage. If anything were to happen to our engagement, I suspect the treaty would be off, and we would be at war again. After all, Menagerie isn’t particularly known for its military prowess, and we do still have plenty of money in our coffers to hire more knights should we need to.”

“Oh,” Said Blake, suddenly feeling quite a bit more pressure than she had moments ago, “Why do so many of your soldiers defect?”

Sun shrugged, “I am pretty sure that it’s cause our kingdom is huge, and we don’t have the manpower to track down everyone who flees. We certainly aren’t Atlas, who I know for a fact executes every defector.” 

“Plus, wearing a full suit of armor in that heat is terrible,” Said Yang, “Definitely the worst place I’ve ever fought in, but money’s money.”

Sun cringed, “That does sound horrible. I’m not sure why my parents are such war-mongers, or why they insisted on fighting with Menagerie for so long. Genuinely, I have no idea why the war even started, or what we get out of it.” 

“I do not recall, either,” Said Blake, “My parents do not even remember who started the war, or why. All they have really said is that we used to be less outmatched, back before our navy was destroyed.”

“If it helps at all, I greatly apologize on behalf of my kingdom,” Said Sun, pausing, “Or, at least on behalf of myself. I don’t think my parents want to apologize, and if it weren’t as “politically advantageous,”” He said, adding finger quotes around the words, “To have a marriage between us, I doubt they would have had any plans to end the war at all.”

“Well that is just wonderful,” Said Blake, a strained smile on her face, “At least, when you are king, their thoughts should not matter so much, and I think our kingdoms will be much better off for it.”

“Yeah,” Said Sun, bowing his head and running his hands through his hair, “Hell of a life we royalty lead, isn’t it?” 

“Indeed,” Said Blake, not knowing what else to say to that. She had always known her engagement to be important, but the knowledge that it was surely the only thing standing between her kingdom and ruin was a bit dizzying. 

“How is the situation with Mistral?” Asked Yang, once again speaking to Sun.

Sun frowned, “Complicated.” 

Situation in Mistral? What situation? Blake wanted to ask, but her head was still spinning from what Sun had said earlier. 

“I’d expect nothing less,” Said Yang, “Has the border with Vale changed at all?” 

“Vale?” Asked Sun, incredulously, “No way. It’s still just as deadly and walled off as always. I don’t even know who’s in charge of that kingdom anymore, and I don’t think anyone does. But, as long as they keep to themselves, I’m not that bothered about it. I’m certainly not as paranoid about it as King Ironwood.” 

“Well, I’m sure some people know what’s going on in Vale. But, fair enough. Anyone who’s as paranoid as Ironwood is sure to go mad eventually.” 

Blake blinked. No one had heard anything from Vale in so long, that she often forgot that the kingdom even existed. Certainly, they had never had diplomatic contact with the kingdom in her lifetime, and no one had ever left the kingdom and lived to tell the tale. She doubted that anyone had ever entered, either. 

“You know quite a bit about politics, for someone who isn’t royalty,” Blake said, looking quizzically at Yang.

Yang shrugged, “What can I say, I’ve lived an adventurous life. I’ve picked up on a few things here and there.” 

“You seem to have so much freedom. Most diplomats do not even travel this much!” 

“Well, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Said Yang, staring at a spot just past Blake’s shoulder, “Really, there are more important things in life,” She hunched down to pick up a small red flower, twirling it between the fingers on her right hand. The sunlight glinted off of the hilt of one of the daggers at her hip, drawing Blake’s eyes to the cold iron.

Blake furrowed her brows, tracing her own fingertips against the satin of her purple dress, “If you say so.” 

“Yeah, well, of course there are some benefits,” Said Yang, her tone suddenly much brighter, “The kingdom of Atlas does make some of the most bear-able fur coats that I’ve ever seen.”

“Was that supposed to be a pun?” Asked Blake, “Because if so, it was absolutely terrible!” 

“It sure was,” Said Yang, winking, “Puns are the highest form of comedy!”

Blake did let out a laugh at that, “I highly doubt that. Puns are mediocre at best.” 

Yang made an exaggerated frown, her fake pout significantly more entertaining to Blake than her terrible pun. Blake let out a giggle at that. 

“Hey, puns are amazing!” Said Sun, “I like you,” He said, pointing at Yang.

“First of all, you are both utterly wrong, second of all, you are not allowed to like your fiance’s guard more than you like your fiance,” Said Blake, sticking her tongue out at the two of them, regardless of how undignified it was.

“I think you’re the one who’s wrong here, princess,” Said Yang, smirking. 

Blake rolled her eyes in response, but couldn’t help a smile tugging at her lips, “You really would make a terrible jester, I do need you to know that.” 

“Sure, keep telling yourself that,” Laughed Yang, “But you are definitely my least favorite member of a royal family in this garden now, and I’ve only known Sun for five minutes.” 

“Hey!” Protested Blake, not having any better comeback to that, though she very much wished that she did. Apparently, her years spent learning how to converse diplomatically and to always have a response to everything were all for naught. For shame.

“Well, as wonderful as making fun of Blake’s terrible taste in jokes has been, I did promise Neptune that I would meet him pretty soon, so I think I am gonna leave to go find him. I hope that I’ll see you both later, though!” Said Sun, standing up to leave

“Well of course!” Said Blake, “I could never abandon my fiance, no matter how terrible his sense of humor.” 

Sun laughed as he strode toward the exit, a slight spring in his step. 

Blake turned toward Yang, rising to her feet to face her, “Would you like to go for a walk around the gardens? I would rather like to stretch my legs.”

“Sure,” Replied Yang, a slight smile on her face. 

“So,” She said, after a brief pause, “What exactly is the situation in Mistral that you were referring to?” 

Yang’s step faltered slightly, although scarcely enough to be noticeable, “Oh, I had just heard that there was some squabbling between some of the advisors from Vacuo and Mistral, and that the situation was tense. Some people had said that they were afraid of more war, but I don’t think it will come to that, at least not right now.”

“Ah,” Said Blake. It sounded as though there was more to the story that Yang was leaving out, but if that were the case, then surely Blake would have heard about it. As Yang said, it was probably nothing. 

“How do you know so much about Vale, anyway?” She asked, changing the subject, “Most people outside of the royal families do not even believe it exists.”

“Oh, I have my ways,” Said Yang, running her fingers across her iron knuckles, “Being a mercenary means I know a lot of people in a lot of places. It’s a pretty exciting life.” 

“I am sure,” Said Blake, “I must say, when we first met, I did not think you to be so worldly.”

“Oh, you thought I was more muscle than brains?” She asked, raising an eyebrow, “Most people do. I don’t mind.- it pays to be underestimated. People will spill a lot of information in front of you if they think you’re too dumb to understand it,” She said, smirking.

“You are full of surprises,” Said Blake.

“No need to act so shocked,” Said Yang, laughing.


	9. A Little Birdy Told Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on doing a few more chapters of developing the relationship between Blake and Yang, but I've been dying to write the chapter since I came up with this fic idea and I got super impatient.

The time passed by rather quickly, days turning into weeks, which turned into months. Blake began to get used to Yang’s presence, becoming something that she might almost consider a friend. Yang became a constant presence in her life, someone who was there morning, noon, and night, whether Blake wanted it or not, although she did find herself enjoying Yang’s company more often than she wished for solitude. 

Little new or notable happened in her life for some time, the days passing without much fanfare. 

Blake almost found herself yearning for an adventure, when a carrier pigeon appeared at her window on a rather overcast day, appearing against the gray expanse, carrying a letter. 

She tilted her head in confusion, staring at the bird. She rarely got mail, seeing as how most of the important correspondence in the kingdom was directed to her parents. Certainly, no bird had ever landed on her windowsill before. 

She approached the bird, grabbing the letter from its leg, before sending it off. 

The letter was addressed to the royal family of Menagerie, sealed together with a wax seal that she had never seen before, the bright crimson of the wax a stark contrast to the pale parchment. 

She turned the letter over in her hand, contemplating it. She was technically part of the royal family, so it wouldn’t be wrong of her to open the letter, would it? 

Slowly, she slid her thumbnail under the edge of the envelope, cracking open the seal. She pulled out the letter, expecting a wall of text. 

Instead, the letter contained only a few words. 

_ I am waiting for your answer. The girl, or the kingdom. Make your choice. I grow impatient. _

_ -King Taurus  _

Blake furrowed her brows, scanning the paper again to make sure that she had read the entire letter. Who in Remnant was King Taurus? Blake knew all of the monarchs in each of the kingdoms, and she had certainly never heard of such a person. And, what did he mean? What girl? Was someone threatening her kingdom? 

“Is something wrong, princess? You look confused,” Said Yang, who was watching Blake from a short distance away.

“I-” Blake began, “-I am not sure. I need to go speak with my parents.” 

She held the letter tight in her fingers, turning swiftly. She began to walk toward the throne room, where she knew her parents would likely be. Yang followed close behind, her golden shadow only a step behind her. Blake thought Yang might have been speaking to her, but she heard nothing, too deep in thought about the cryptic words to understand anything else. 

She arrived in the throne room to see her parents deep in conversation, barely noticing her presence. She cleared her throat, and her parents both looked up at her, strained smiles on their faces quickly replaced by twin looks of surprise. 

“Hello, my dear. I did not anticipate seeing you today,” Said her mother. 

“Yes, I know,” Replied Blake, “I have something that I must discuss with you. I just received this rather confusing letter, from someone who goes by King Taurus. I thought that you might be able to help clear some of my confusion?” 

Her parents’ expressions darkened at that, her mother’s mouth set in a grim line. 

“I was afraid this day would come,” Said her father, almost mournfully. Blake cocked her head, wondering when anyone would bother to say something that actually made sense. 

“Adam Taurus is the king of the kingdom of Mistral,” Spoke her mother, gritting her teeth as if the words had pained her.

“What?” Said Blake, blinking in confusion, “Sienna Khan is the queen of Mistral. She has been for years.”

Her mother shook her head, her eyes downcast, an expression she had never seen on the Queen’s face, “No, she is not. Sienna Khan is dead. A group of bandits under the moniker of The Order of the Red Sword staged a coup d’etat of her kingdom, and Adam Taurus took the throne.” 

“What? When did this happen?” Blake whispered, her mouth hanging open. 

Her mother continued to stare at the ground, not coming close to meeting Blake’s eyes.

“Months ago.” 

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Because,” Her father began, slowly, “We could not.”

Blake waited for him to elaborate, but no more words came from his mouth. He looked off to her left, also refusing to look at her. A pit of dread began to build in her stomach, glancing between her parents. 

“What do you mean?” She asked, the question coming out significantly more demanding than she meant it to. 

Her mother sighed, closing her eyes, “Adam Taurus has said that he wishes for your hand in marriage.”

Blake blinked, thinking that she had misheard, “What? But I am engaged!” 

“Indeed,” Her father said, sadly, “He has also stipulated that he will declare war on the Kingdom of Menagerie if he does not get what he wants.” 

All of the air was driven from Blake’s lungs. Her heart stopped beating in her chest, and she could not take another breath. 

“But- but I am engaged!” She said again, unable to understand what they were saying.

Her mother looked at her sadly, the lines in her face more pronounced than Blake had ever seen them, “Yes, you are. He would have us break your engagement, so that you might marry him.”

Break her engagement? But that would mean-

“So that we would have war with Vacuo?”

Her father nodded solemnly, “That is indeed what such an action would entail.” 

“So,” Blurted out Blake, her breaths coming in fast, “We must either have war with Mistral or Vacuo?” 

“Yes,” Spoke her mother, schooling her face into something expressionless. 

“And, and I am to be the one to decide which war we have?”

Again, her parents nodded at her. Blake felt tears pool in her eyes, her throat aching as she fought to keep them from spilling over.

“Why would you not tell me this?” She asked, staring at the letter in her hands, clenched between trembling fingers. 

“We wanted to protect you,” Said her mother, “We did not want for this to be on your shoulders. You are only a princess, and it is not your job to decide the wars of your kingdom. We thought that we might manage to come to another arrangement with either kingdom.”

“But it is my life. My engagement. My kingdom. I should have been allowed to know,” She whispered, her throat tight. 

“Perhaps,” Said her father, “But we just wanted for you to be happy.” 

Blake lowered her eyes to the ground, swimming with tears. Behind her, she saw Yang’s shadow, utterly unmoving.

She glanced up at her father, and then stepped back, forcing Yang into her field of vision. Her parents had said that this all happened months ago.

“Is that why you hired Yang?” She demanded, the words sharp.

Her father flinched back slightly, looking ashamed of himself. She didn’t need him to answer.

Blake turned swiftly, swinging her body to face Yang, “Did you know?” She hissed, jabbing a finger at Yang.

Yang stiffened beside her, staring off past Blake’s shoulder, not looking at her, “Yes. I did.” 

“All these months by my side, and you never told me?” The words came out as little more than a whisper. 

Yang turned her head, looking as far from Blake as she possibly could.

“How could you? This is my life! I trusted you to protect me!” She said, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. 

Yang didn’t respond, didn’t look at her, didn’t even flinch.

“I thought you were my friend,” She spat out. Still, no reaction from Yang. 

“I am sorry, my dear. I truly am. But you do not have to make this decision alone, and we will help figure out what is best for the kingdom,” Said her mother.

“And yet, you hid this from me for months while we grew closer to a two-front war, without coming up with a solution? How exactly is that what is best for the kingdom? How is that what is best for me?” Under her tears, she felt a hot rush of anger building in her chest.

“We are in an impossible position here, Blake. We only did what we thought was best,” Her father said, his posture crumpled and his face almost sunken.

“What is best is not to hide from me that I am directly in the middle of a war, and that at the end of the day this is my choice to make!” 

“We are sorry, Blake. But what is done cannot be undone, and there is nothing that we can do now but to try to make sure we protect our kingdom.” Her mother seemed to age as she spoke, her gray hairs standing out starkly. 

“Is this why Prince Sun was brought here? So you could convince him not to end our engagement, or-”

Her father cut her off, “We did not think that the Kingdom of Vacuo would attack a palace where Prince Sun was residing. It was simply a precaution”

Blake swallowed hard. That must mean that her parents were planning on marrying her to this other man. That they had decided to go to war once again with Vacuo, which would destroy their battered army in a moment.

The room blurred around her, the gray stone of the castle swimming through her tears, seeming to spin. Her hands shook, and the letter slipped through her fingers, falling to the floor beside her. She suddenly felt that she could not remain in the throne room for a moment longer, that she had to escape. 

She pushed past Yang, the other girl stumbling back. And then, Blake ran, the sound of her shoes clanging against the stone floor of the castle echoing off the walls. She ran without seeing, her vision still obscured by the hot tears that just wouldn’t stop coming. She ran on memory, through a castle that she could walk through with her eyes closed, fists clenched around her skirts. 

She ran faster than she ever had before, until she ran right into someone else, slamming into the floor from the impact, hearing the seams rip as her purple dress tore against the stone.

She looked up, to hear, “Blake?”

It was Ilia.

“Did you know?” Blake demanded, “Did you know about-” She cut herself off. Did Ilia know about the wars on the horizon? Did she know about the coup? Did she know about the choice that Blake had to make? Did she know about how much blood would be on Blake’s hands if she made the wrong decision? Did she know that the kingdom was in danger? Did she know that Blake was in danger? Did she know that everything she had ever known and loved might be destroyed? Did she know that their kingdom was about to be obliterated, the weakest kingdom in all of Remnant, the only kingdom that couldn’t withstand another war? “Did you know about Adam Taurus?” 

Ilia bit her lip, looking at the floor, “Blake, I am so, so sorry about all of this.” 

So she did know. So she, too, had hidden the truth from Blake. 

Blake pushed herself to her feet, and kept running, leaving Ilia standing alone in the hall. She ran until she was out of breath, and pulled herself into a doorway that sat behind a tapestry, a long-closed passageway that also served as a convenient hiding place in case of an attack, or to hide from the other people in the castle. 

She pulled herself up the narrow staircase, eventually ending up at the top of a tower on the back side of the castle. She slid down against a tapestry hanging against the wall, the soft embroidery depicting an orange sunrise. Blake pulled her legs against her chest, and let the tears fall down her face, sobs racking her body. 

She ran her hands through her hair, ripping at her braids and the ribbons in her hair until her hair fell around her shoulders and the purple ribbons lay strewn across the floor. Her tears soaked into the fabric of her dress.

This entire time, all of the people that she had trusted had known about Adam and hadn’t told her. They had all known that she had to decide if her kingdom would be destroyed by Vacuo or by Mistral. They had all known that she was trapped in the middle of this for months, and yet no one had bothered to tell her. 

She wondered if Prince Sun knew. She was sure he did, because if anyone should know about the overthrow of another kingdom, it would be the rest of the royal families.

She didn’t want to end their engagement. She had been set to marry Prince Sun for so long, she could hardly imagine a future in which she wasn’t the future Crown Princess of Vacuo. She certainly couldn’t imagine a future in which she married a man who was taking her kingdom hostage to force her hand. At least with Prince Sun, it was purely political, and it didn’t matter that she was Blake so much as that she was a Belladonna. 

But to Adam, it seemed as though the important part was that she was Blake. 

She didn’t even understand why he wanted to marry her. What could the tiny kingdom of Menagerie have to offer him? What could he possibly gain from threatening war against her kingdom? 

More tears spilled down her cheeks. She wasn't sure what hurt more- knowing that her kingdom might be destroyed if she chose to marry the wrong man, if she chose to fight the wrong kingdom- or the fact that her friends and family had known about it for months and had lied about it.

That Yang had known about it for as long as Blake had known her, and had never told her about it. 

Blake had never felt so alone.

She sat and wept alone in the tower, her hands shaking and her breaths labored, until the moon had risen in the sky, bathing her in its dim, white light.

Blake stared down at the tear in her dress, which stretched across her stomach, the purple dress showing the white chemise underneath. 

Eventually, she grew tired, her eyes burning from tears and unable to stay open any longer. She curled up into a ball on the stone floor, falling asleep alone in the cold darkness.

It was only later that she would realize that Yang never came after her, and that these were the first moments that she had spent away from her since they had met.

That realization did not make her feel any less alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, I introduce the plot!


	10. Old Scars, New Wounds

Blake awoke the next morning to the first rays of the rising sun against a dark blue sky. She stretched out, her neck sore from the awkward angle that she had been laying at on the stone floor. She shivered, all of the heat leached out of her into the chilly night. 

She stood, slowly, and began descending down the narrow staircase, clenching her hair ribbons in her hand. She began to walk in the direction of her chambers. Blake had no desire to see Yang again, or anyone, for that matter, but she needed new clothes and a bath, and probably food.

Besides, she thought with a sigh, she would have to see them all sooner or later, no matter how badly she wished that were not the case. 

The castle was mostly empty at the early hour, the only people walking around being the servants and the guards, most of who paid her little mind, focused on their own tasks. 

Eventually, she arrived at her own chambers, pushing open the half-shut door. Inside, Yang was sitting in a chair, curled up into a little ball with her head resting on her knees. Her hair was even more mussed than usual, as if she had been running her hands through it.

Blake looked at her a little more closely, and realized that she was asleep. 

She sent a glare towards Yang, moving quietly towards her dresser to find a replacement dress for the day. She went to another room in her chambers to bathe, washing the tear stains off of her face, and doing her best to make herself look presentable.

When she came back to the main room of her chambers, Yang was still exactly where Blake had left her, only her eyes were open, a sliver of sunlight reflecting off the bright purple. 

“Princess?” She asked, her voice quiet and strained. 

Blake only glared at her, unable to find the words to respond. Yang averted her eyes, an ashamed look that Blake had never seen before adorning her face. 

“Look, for what it’s worth- I’m sorry.” 

Blake didn’t think that was worth very much. She turned toward her mirror, running a brush through her hair, and pointedly ignored whatever pitiable facial expression Yang was trying to get her to see. 

They sat in a tense silence for a few minutes, before Blake turned to face Yang.

“I want you to train me to fight.”

Yang blinked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, “You want me to do what?” 

“You heard me. Clearly, I cannot trust any of you to look out for my best interests, and, if I am going to be in the middle of a war, I ought to be able to have someone competent and trustworthy to look out for me. Clearly, that person has to be myself.” 

Yang winced at that, but didn’t protest. She sighed, quickly schooling herself into a more serious expression, “Fine. I can do that. Do you have any training whatsoever?” 

“No,” Said Blake.

“Can you throw a punch?”

“No.”

“Do you have a weapon?”

“No.”

Yang rubbed at her eyes, sighing, “Well then, I think the first thing you have to do is get some sort of weapon, because you can’t have mine. Unless you were planning on solely fighting with your fists, which might not be a great idea if you ever have to fight someone wearing a suit of armor. Even I don’t do that.” 

“Great,” Said Blake, trying her best to stop glaring at Yang, “Then I will go to the royal armory right this instant to speak to our head blacksmith about getting me a weapon. You will come with me, of course.” 

Yang stiffened instantly, her eyes wide, “No.”

“And why not?” Blake asked, her ire sharpening the words.

“Because,” She paused, “Because an armory is no place for a princess.”

Blake raised her eyebrows at that, “And yet it is fine for you to train me in fighting? That makes no sense at all.” 

Yang looked to the side, “Yes.” 

“Well, I do not particularly care what you think. I am going to go to the armory, and you must follow me there, because it is your job to follow me around and protect me. You can’t exactly leave me alone twice in one day. You do want your money, don’t you?” 

Yang closed her eyes, breathing out sharply, “Fine.” 

Blake stood, and began to walk toward the armory, which sat across the castle grounds. Yang followed, rather sullenly, making sure to keep distance between them.

The grounds were nearly empty, the sun barely poking over the trees. Eventually, she approached the armory, which was attached to the blacksmith’s forge. It occurred to her that she might be better off speaking to the head blacksmith, rather than stealing weapons from their military when they were on the brink of war. 

The first thing she noticed upon pushing through the door was the deafening sound of hammers striking anvils, which was muted from the outside, and nearly painful on the inside. The second thing that she noticed was the oppressive heat, which instantly made her start to sweat in her silk dress. 

It took a few moments for anyone to notice her presence, although her purple attire made her stand out quite vividly among the iron. 

In front of her, someone turned around, putting aside a rather large piece of metal that they had been banging on that was beginning to look something like a sword.

Blake was rather surprised to see that said person was a girl, and a rather short one at that. Her hair was jet black, tied back out of her face with a red ribbon, gathered at the base of her neck. She wore a red dress, which looked as though someone had taken a blade to the sleeves, and a dark apron. The lack of sleeves showed off her arm muscles, which seemed rather enormous. 

“Uh, hello?” Said the girl, a rather startled expression on her face, “Wait, are you the princess? What are you doing here?” 

“Hello. I am the princess, actually, and I was looking to speak to the head blacksmith.”

“Oh!” Said the girl, letting out a nervous laugh, “That’s me! I’m Ruby Rose, the head blacksmith.”

Blake blinked, “You seem,” She paused, “Rather young.” 

“Yup! I’m a prodigy! Is there something you need from me, your highness?” She seemed almost like a deer in headlights, although unexpected visits from the royal family tended to do that to people. 

“Yes. I was looking to learn how to fight, and I was told that I would need a weapon in order to do so.” 

Ruby’s expression instantly turned into one of delight, “Oh, my gods, you’re here for my weapons? Why didn’t you just say so!” She turned abruptly, seeming to vibrate trying to contain her energy, “We’ve got battle axes and swords and knives and bows and shields and anything you could ever want! This over here,” She said, practically sprinting across the forge despite the numerous sharp objects, “Is my baby, Crescent Rose. It’s a scythe of my own design! I don’t recommend one for you, since they are very heavy and need a lot of training, but I can also make something custom for you if you want it!” 

“Wow, that’s really interesting,” Blake said, waiting for her brain to process everything that Ruby had said. Blake was pretty sure that she hadn’t taken a single breath the entire time she had been speaking, “I think I would like something a bit smaller. Maybe a bow?”

Ruby nodded, “Good choice, good choice. However, they will leave you pretty vulnerable in close-quarters combat, and they are best used either at long ranges or when you are sure that you have someone who can watch your back and take out any threats near you.”

Blake’s eyes travelled towards the door, where Yang was still standing, looking as if she was trying to hide behind all of the equipment in the forge, “Oh, I suppose not, then. Maybe some smaller blades?” 

Ruby beamed, gesturing toward another anvil, with several nearly-finished knives sitting on it, still glowing a dull red, “These might be perfect for you, then! Dual wielding knives gives you a lot of flexibility, while still enabling you to deliver a heavy hit. Not so great when it comes to ranged combat, but they’re overall a pretty great option!” She bounced on her toes as she spoke.

“That sounds perfect,” Said Blake, smiling at Ruby’s enthusiasm.

“Now, do you need any armor? Or maybe a sheath for your knives? Chainmail? Breastplate? Some better shoes, or maybe a sturdier dress?” 

Blake paused, thinking, “Oh, uh, I have no idea, truly. Maybe just a sheath?” She felt, suddenly, deeply out of her depth. She didn’t think that she could need any armor, since she was just trying to be prepared, in case anyone thought to compel her to choose a particular marriage by choice. It wasn’t as if she was going to go to war herself! 

“Oh great!” Said Ruby, “I don’t work with leather, myself, but I do have a fair number of blade sheaths in the forge here, given what I do. I should have some right over-” She paused, turning to dig through the clutter of the forge, “-here!” She pulled out a set of leather sheaths attached to a belt, which would have a blade sitting at each hip, similar to what Yang usually wore.

“It’s perfect,” Said Blake, smiling.

Ruby looked thrilled, “Now, these knives aren’t finished yet, but I think I can get them to you in the next few days, especially since you are the princess,” She punctuated her statement with a little bow, seemingly realizing that she had forgotten to do that before.

“Wonderful. What do you think, Yang?” She asked over her shoulder. As much as she very much did not want to talk to the other girl at the moment, she was an expert in all things combat related, and it would be rather silly of Blake to shop for weapons without consulting her.

Ruby’s eyes followed the motion of Blake’s head, landing on Yang’s figure, who was still standing near the doorway, a wall of iron shields surrounding her and making her appear invisible.

“Yang?” Asked Ruby, her eyes wide. 

Yang looked as if she was trying to become invisible, or to melt into the floor, “Hello, Ruby,” She said, hesitantly. 

Ruby’s jaw dropped slightly, and the hammer that she had picked up clanged to the floor, “Is it really you?” 

Yang ran her hand over the back of her neck, eyes fixated squarely on the floor, “Yeah, it’s me.”

Ruby blinked in disbelief, “Where have you been, after all this time? Why didn’t you write?” 

“I’ve moved around a lot, and I never stayed long enough in one place for you to be able to write back,” Said Yang, sounding utterly unconvinced of what she was saying. 

Ruby opened and closed her mouth a few times, with no sound coming out. She suddenly moved across the forge at full speed, crashing into Yang with her arms wrapped around her, “I missed you,” She said, as she pulled Yang into a tight hug.

Yang hugged her back, with much less enthusiasm and an incredibly guilty look on her face, “I missed you too.”

Blake was incredibly confused, and tried her best to convey her confusion through a series of hand gestures and facial expressions in Yang’s line of sight. Eventually, Yang seemed to notice.

Yang extricated herself from Ruby’s arms, “Blake, this is Ruby. She’s my sister. Ruby, this is Blake, I’m on her personal guard duty.”

“You have a sister?”

“I do,” Said Yang, not elaborating about why she had never mentioned Ruby before. 

“How long have you been back for?” Asked Ruby.

“Oh, uh, not long,” Said Yang, not looking at Ruby.

“Why haven’t you come to see me until now? Or dad? He misses you too, and he worries about you.” 

Yang gritted her teeth, “I just haven’t had the chance yet. I’ve only just gotten back to Menagerie.” 

Blake frowned. That was definitely stretching the truth, at best. Why on Remnant would Yang be lying to her sister? 

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Said Ruby, “Wait, are you the one training the princess to fight?” 

“Yeah, I am,” Yang smiled, but it was strained, and didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“Oh my gods, that’s so amazing! Can I help?” 

Yang looked taken aback, “I guess so, yeah. Of course, that is if you can still keep up with me,” Her expression morphed into a smirk.

Ruby punched her lightly on the arm, “Of course I can, dummy. I haven’t exactly been slacking all these years.”

“Well, neither have I,” Joked Yang. 

Ruby glanced over at Blake, and took a step away from Yang, “Anyway, I will probably see you both pretty soon, since I will probably have your weapons done within 2 days. But please do stop by, even if it’s just to chat! After all, I am right on the castle grounds,” She looked pointedly at Yang, who looked away, leaning back against the wall. 

“Right, yeah, of course,” Mumbled Yang, “We’ll see you soon.” She practically ran out the door, grabbing onto Blake’s arm and pulling her with her. 

The moment that they were outside, Blake leveled Yang with a piercing glare, “So, what exactly was all that about?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Said Yang, a blank look on her face.

“Is there anyone that you haven’t lied to? Is the truth poison to you, or something?”

“Or something,” Mumbled Yang. 

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But the truth will catch up to you eventually,” Blake replied, storming off ahead of Yang, and leaving the other girl alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this AU, Yang and Ruby are from Menagerie, not Patch (this plays into the plot to some extent, and also relates to some of the worldbuilding here).

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully, I will be updating this very soon! I have a fair bit of the plot planned out, but it has been quite a while since I have written fanfic and I am trying to get back into it.


End file.
